Hindsight
by Esoulix'Anne-Louise
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki was an average shinobi...well as average as he could be.With a near invincible ninetailed fox in your gut, a famous lineage, and a future self who keeps sending back 'memories', he has a lot on his plate. Not to mention he has at least 5 arch nemesis's who are extremely mislead... At least this time he wasn't completely alone. TimeTravel,TT with a twist. Team7centric
1. Prelude

+~+~+ Hindsight +~+~+

~3~3~3~3~Prologue~3~3~3~3~

AN: Thank you for reading! I have faith that you will like this story~ Please enjoy! Oh, and if I owned Naruto, why in the world am I writing Fanfiction? And this was written on WordPad, please forgive and mistakes. ENJOYYYY! :3

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The saviour looked over the bloody battlefield, pain pulsing in his chest. He wasn't sure if it was the large gash that was inflicted diagonally across his torso or if it was the pain of loosing everything dear to him. Maybe it was both, But the pain was so strong it brought him to his knees as he gasped for air.

But then the Saviour knew it wasn't the flesh wound that hurt so much. It was the massacre that he had been helpless to stop. The flesh wound would heal, and he had sustained worse physical pain than this. But the Saviour knew tha this mental wounds would never stop hurting.

Maybe this was why the old woman had turned to alchohol. Maybe it paused the pain.

But the Saviour had no time to speculate the pain he felt because of a strong strike to his gut that sent him flying across the once beautiful field. The Saviour landed painfully against the dead bodies of his comrades, skidding to a halt next to a boulder created by a douton jutsu.

The man advanced on the Saviour's prone body, a victorious smirk hidden by a spiral mask. His black cloak played with the wind with jerky, jumpy movements as it blended with the night air. Behind the orange mask of the predator, his blood-red eyes gleamed darkly, the intricate designs twirling and spinning dangerously in the moonlight.

The Saviour groaned, not bothering to defend himself as he had lost the will to live a long time ago. He had lost everything; he had no point in life, had no one to protect, no one to love. Everyone around him ended up under a gravestone or, worse, dead under rubble and debris, having lost their lives in battle. The Saviour coughed painfully, not bothering to cover his weak state, both in mind and in body. He had no reason to live anymore, his purpous in life was to protect. He had nothing worth protection now.

Again he was attacked, kicked once more in the gut, he flew over the battlefield, landing painfully against a rusty old sword. The Saviour almost cried out in pain as the rusty blade cut across his back, leaving a ragged wound from his mid back to right thigh.

He did, however, curse the man responsible. "Damn you Izuna!"

The man now dubbed as Izuna laughed darkly, his voice echoing aross the fields. He advanced on the Saviour's prone body, chuckling with madness as the Saviour coughed up blood on the grass. He brought his sword up to strike at him, to potentially cut his head off.

The Saviour started to glow a bright yellow colour, blinding his attacker. And when Izuna looked back at where the Saviour was, his eyes widened slightly in disbelief.

The Saviour, Naruto Uzumaki, had dissapeared from sight.

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That's it folks! Look forward for the next chapter in this EPIC SAGA! DUN DUN DUNNNN! :P Review! I live on those things! I eat'em! Breath'em! I can't live without them! REVIEWWWWWW! CLICK THAT BLUE BUTTON DAMNIT! CLICK IT!


	2. I: The Things We Say

_Hindsight_

_Arc 1: Learning from the Past_

_Chapter One: Change_

Hinata found herself fighting yet another faint spell when Naruto leaned in close, whispering soft words of confidence in her ear. This had been happening for the past month, Naruto encouraging her directly, inviting her to friendly outings and basically just being her friend. Something had happened to Naruto over night, at first it had been subtle, so that only she and Iruka would notice, (like Naruto being a little less rowdy than normal and how he would zone out from time to time). And Hinata found she liked the change. Not that she didn't like the old Naruto, but now-now, he was more... _Practical. _Like he had learned life's lessons overnight. He still held the same qualities that drew her to him in the first place; like his determination, being outgoing, confidant and enthusiastic. They were just a little toned down a bit.

And truthfully, it made Hinata all the more drawn to him. It was like Naruto decided one day that he would take life a little more seriously, train harder, train smarter, and have fun in a smarter way as well.

Across the room Sasuke rolled his eyes at his sparring partner and his best-friend, successfully ignoring the ''Stupid Fangirls" as Naruto had so _fondly_ dubbed them. They had made an agreement at the beginning of the year, that they would work to be on the same team. Naruto had oh so humbly agreed to play the idiot, so that he and Sasuke would end up on the same team (more so that he could see everyone's faces when he rocks everyone later on, that little trickster). Sasuke had asked why Naruto wouldn't let Hinata in the team as well, since the three trained together often, but his answer was as helpful as the class fangirls.

It was a horribly vague answer, something that suggested that Naruto had his own share of skeletons in his closet. Sasuke shook off his thoughts, convincing himself that Naruto would tell him when he was ready. Naruto _was_ his best friend, after all. They kept nothing from each other, and if they did, it was out in the open eventually.

Sasuke sighed slightly woefully, resting his head and his right hand and looking out the window contemplatively. Beside him, he was vaguely aware of his stalke-_fan-girls-_-giggling and squealing at him. God they were a pain. It was so annoying-not one of them knew pain and death, they didn't know him, all they cared was the tragic story behind his name, his looks, (yeah, he was aware) and his now rare Sharingan bloodline. They didn't care about _him_. They cared about his publicity that came with him. Sasuke resisted the urge to groan and bury his head in his hands. That would only make the fan-girls squeal and giggle even more. Ugh.

"Hey, Sasuke?" the said boy almost jumped when he realized that Naruto was right beside him suddenly. He glared halfheartedly at his best bro, but otherwise didn't say anything. "Can you do me a favor?"

The raven-haired boy was just opening his mouth to say a swift 'Sure' when suddenly one of his biggest fangirls interrupted him. "You can't ask the Greatest Uchiha, Sasuke-Kun, a favor! You're just a clanless Dobe; a useless orphan!" Sakura's screech was so loud and annoying that Sasuke had to resist the strong urge to punch her.

Naruto retorted with anger. "You forget that I'm not the only orphan in this class. Don't say such heartless things in front of me, or my friends." There was a slight flash in Naruto's eyes, and Sakura recoiled back a little, startled.

"My Mama always says that you're nothing special, that you have no potential at all! You're just a freak!" A no-name girl who had neon-orange hair spat.

Sasuke watched as Naruto flinched slightly at the name, and anger boiled up inside of him. He owed everything to his best friend! How could they say such things, when Naruto was the one who brought Sasuke back and living? "_Baka_" He growled at the girl, but she mistook it as him agreeing with her.

"See?" She said indigently. "Even Sasuke-Kun thinks so."

Naruto glanced at him, but otherwise didn't react. "Naruto is my best friend." Sasuke glared at the once tolerable fangirls, who had recoiled as if slapped. "Don't you dare talk against him."

Booming silence.

Naruto looked at him, surprised. Why was he so protective...?

_"Why do you care?! You don't know a thing-not about me, not about my family! You don't understand! You've never had a family before!" _

A flash of the memory from a few months ago.

_"I may haven't have, but I know... I know what it's like, Sasuke! To go home-not one greeting, no welcome back, nothing! Saying goodnight to the empty air, having no response whatsoever! I know Sasuke!_"

_"You've never lost something that's so important to you, you feel you have to die without it!" Sasuke was crying now. "You've never had anything ripped away from you-by someone who was important to you!"_

_Naruto's voice saddened. "Because I've never had anything to lose. Don't do this, Sasuke. I've seen people like you-lost and scared and angry-they go nowhere in life. I can see it Sasuke! Your hate! And I don't like it...I don't... I don't know. If you don't want to lose things important to you-either protect them with all you've had, or don't get anything _too_ lose._"

_Sasuke would've picked the second choice, if Naruto hadn't already wormed his way into the vacant 'Big Brother' spot in his heart._

Naruto mentally shook his head, and looked briefly at Sasuke. "It's fine, I'll ask later."

And with that, the class started.

Iruka examined the class. "Now, who wants to tell me about the Third Hokage?" Immediately, Naruto's hand shot up.

Iruka sighed. "Yes, Naruto?"

"Um, Well, I know his alias is the 'Professor' because he trained and taught the Legendary Three, and 'The God Of Shinobi' because he mastered a lot of Jutsu. Er, He's the student of the-um the first and second Hokage..." Naruto paused, digging in the crevices of his mind to find more information . "He's good at sealing. And... Um... He uses a staff thingy to fight." He grinned when he remembered a scene from less that a week ago. "He's also a huge closet pervert."

There went his 'intelligent' moment. Iruka sighed. He could never get Naruto to be serious. Naruto was something of a personal project of Iruka's, mostly because he couldn't believe how mean everyone was to him. Pity was what caused him in the end. Also there was the fact that he could relate to Naruto, even if a little bit. But what sealed the deal was Naruto's attitude.

"Thank you Naruto, that was good. Now, into review of the Legendary Three..."

The class groaned. At least they skipped a long boring lecture about how Sarutobi Hiruzen survived, if not dominated the first Two Great Secret Shinobi Wars. They could be thankful about that, at least.

* * *

Even if Naruto was ranked 'Dead Last' in the roster, Hinata knew that Naruto might as well already be a Genin. So did Sasuke, as well. Sasuke was close to being Genin level, and so was Hinata, but already Naruto was at Mid-Genin level. It was pretty damn impressive for someone who was only ten years old. (Well, his birthday _was_ coming up. He'd be eleven in a month.)

Hinata was a faithful follower of Naruto, even believed that he could one day change the Elemental Nations. But sometimes a girl has to put her foot down. Right now was one of those times. Naruto was insisting on something ridiculously impossible. Not to mention morally wrong.

Stealing from a Ninja-ware shop near the Hokage Tower. He had told her, merely because he trusted that she wouldn't rat him out. But even so, if he stole something so extreme, lets just say that allot of people will be very displeased. Eventually he caved and explained why he couldn't just walk in and _buy_ the stupid things.

"They hate me, you know? All of them. Every single one." Naruto looked down sadly, but didn't cry a single tear. "Ever since I could remember, they all hated me. As if I was a plague that had killed thousands. As if I was a murderer that got off without a punishment." He looked up at Hinata, eyes soft and sorry. "Some of them even sabotage my career as a ninja. And some sell me bad goods and others even raise their prices so I can't buy anything from them. And a lot just give me the items just so I could get out of their sight. I honestly don't know which one is worse." He fell silent, not wanting to mention the couple of times he was beat up because of the angry villagers. Hinata seemed to sense this and fell silent aswell.

Hinata looks down sadly. "I'm sorry."

Naruto shook his head. "It's not your fault Hinata. It's no ones." He looked up. "I learned a long time ago that no matter what I do I couldn't change the way they think about me, so I stopped giving them the pleasure of seeing me care about it. Why else do you think I'm always grinning like a fool?" He looks at her. "C'mon, lets train together. I need help with my chakra control again. What was that exercise you told me about again? The Water Walking?"

Hinata smiled, nodding. "Yes. You basically just have to pump larger amounts of chakra into your feet. But since the water is always changing, flowing, you have to be able to do that too. To make your chakra flow change according to the change in the water."

"You know," Naruto said conversationally, taking a step onto the pond with some difficulty as Hinata watched with her Byakugan. "I was thinking of taking up Fuuinjutsu. I was reading about it-don't give me that look Hinata-I was reading about it-Hinata! _Anyways_ I was reading about it in the library archives-Kara-nee told me about it-and it looked very interesting. What do you think?" He looked at her briefly, smiling. "Personally, I think that it would be very useful."

"Well," Hinata said, before focusing on his feet again. "I think-less chakra Naruto-that sealing things in a scroll would be undoubtingly useful in the field. Not to mention the possibilities that come with it. I took some classes on it when a couple-less chakra Naruto-years ago and my instructor told me as long as I know what I was doing and had a suitable imagination I could create virtually anything. If you focused enough Naruto I'm sure you'd be able to do just that."

Naruto smiled, before falling into the water with a loud splash. Hinata started giggling as Naruto resurfaced and started sputtering water out of his mouth and nose. He glared, and swam back to shore, feeling really silly and stupid. Hinata giggled, and Naruto bit back his 'Shut up'. Even though Hinata had gotten over her shyness, it didn't mean that she was no longer fragile.

Instead, he leveled a playful glare at her.

"You know Hinata, I don't know what I would do without you." He said as he plopped onto the ground. He missed her blush as he stared at the clouds in a way that reminisced Shikamaru.

Hinata blushed, plopping down next to him. "W-well..." She coughed to cover up her stutter. "Y-ou'd probab-ly have the wors-st chakra control in history... And know nothing a-bout chakra in general."

Naruto grinned up at the sky, pointing to a particular cloud from the east. "That looks like a cat, doesn't it?"

Hinata tilted her head, blush fading a little at the subject change. "More... Like a dog."

Naruto just grinned wider, glad for his best friend Hinata.

Hinata shot up from her laying position, startling her golden-haired friend into doing the same. "Hey Naruto-Kun," She said as if something just dawned on her. "Do you think me and Sasuke-Kun could go buy you're Weapons-and-Wears _for_ you?" Naruto blinked, getting into a more comfortable position.

"I never really thought about that." He said numbly. "Are you sure it's not too much of a bother?" He glanced at her, only to see a 'you're kidding me right?' look on his lavender friends face. He smiled a faint smile, watching as the colours reflected off of the lake water in front of them.

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

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Well that's a wrap people! Sorry for the extra long wait, but my computer kept on crashing. :P You know the drill!

Read, Review, Favourite, and Fallow! RRFF kids! xD

Expect the next chapter in about two months, knowing my pace :P


	3. III: Months on End

_Chap Sum:Naruto and Sasuke are now friends, brothers. Hinata is working on her shyness, and Naruto is still seemingly oblivious to her advances. The Genin Exams are coming up soon, and Sakura is still blinded by her mothers words. Will Naruto learn of Hinata's crush? Will Sakura ever see past the fog her mother is putting up? And what of Sasuke?_

**_Hindsight_**

**_Arc One: Learning From the Past_**

_Chapter Two: Months on End_

_Fire and brimstone. Ashes and coal. Culm and charred wood. Naruto watched the fireplace burn a bright red in front of him, the hot light reflecting in his unblinking blue eyes. His eyes stung horribly,but he couldn't bring himself to blink or to look away. Neji. Neji had died. Naruto still remembered how the prodigy had placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning against him in fatigue as Naruto stood there frozen. How Lee and Shikamaru told him to pull it together, they were at war, they said. He remembered how Neji told him to be good to Hinata, how he had fallen against the already bloody battle-field. _

_Neji. Shikamaru. Ino. All dead. Gone. Their deaths flashing in his eyes, last words echoing endlessly in his ears, the smell of blood still creeping up his nose, making him feeling sick to his stomach; yet he couldn't get ahold of himself enough to go empty his dinner into the bushes. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to kick Madara's ass, defeat Obito and save the world so that no one was hurt anymore than they were supposed to. It wasn't supposed to be like this._

_His eyes burned, the fire melting his cornea until he had to blink and look away. Tears flowed down his cheekbones, passing his lips and slipping into his mouth. He let out a soft whimper, too broken to really start sobbing like he had just before dinner. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They weren't supposed to die._

Sweat trickled down Naruto's brow, dripping into his eyes and making them burn. He ignored it however, in favor for beating up the training log in front of him. The memory of the dream seared into his mind. What the hell was that? Death. It was all about death, aftermath of a horrible war. And who was Obito and Madara anyways?

And being so distraught about the death of Ino? Well, Ino was okay enough, but he didn't even know the girl. Only because of Sakura-chan did he know about Ino. He wouldn't have been that upset-so upset he couldn't even move-couldn't even speak. Yes, he would have cried, he would have been sad for Sakura, but not so sad that he wanted to die.

That's right... Sakura-chan. Naruto dropped onto the ground, panting heavily and staring at the trees above him. His eyes narrowed. Why had he gotten mad at Sakura-chan the other day? It was like something came over him. Something dark and angry. Something that had no hope for the world. It was depressing. Saddening; one could call it your inner demon. Naruto snorted. Inner demon, huh? I already have an inner demon, literally.

This was getting too complicated. Way too complicated, it was making him stressed out. A headache started to pound on the inside of his skull beating like an erratic uncontrollable humming bird. It was like something nagging at the forefront of his mind, refusing to be ignored or overlooked. A stubborn problem in front of his eyes, refusing to move until it was resolved. Something was up. Something big. Big, bothersome, and attention seeking. But what? That was the big question. What was going on that caused all his instincts to scream at him, to make him jittery, impatient and basically paranoid?

Naruto contemplated this, wondering if this feeling and the dreams were connected somehow. Naruto sighed, feeling stupid for wondering. Of course it was, but why was he having these weird dreams in the first place? It didn't make any sense. The again, since when did anything in his life make sense?

Naruto sighed again, covering his eyes with his hand staring at the darkness that it brought to him. Then a thought came over him; what if this wasn't anything worth noticing? What if this just the imagination of a confused and lost eleven year old boy? Naruto snorted. He had one hell of an imagination then.

He doubted anyone would believe him if he were to tell them about his dreams. Maybe Hinata-chan would, seeing as she ate up anything he gave her. She was glad to accept almost anything he told her, the ignored and abused child that she was. Of course, he was the same way. Though there were times that she did disagree with him, and he understood completely. But the dreams-nightmares, Naruto relented-were things that he was afraid to wonder about aloud to anyone, even Hinata.

Because if they didn't believe him, and this was a serious matter-then he wouldn't know what to do. The reason was that he couldn't bare it-couldn't bare the very thought of losing someone precious-someone who he cared for and wished to protect no matter what. It was unthinkable. Unfathomable, unbelievable.

Naruto sighed, he guessed that would mean that he was in this alone then. Yes, he was alone after all in this confusing and frustrating predicament.

-OoO-

It was frightening, that realization. That he was alone, even after all this time of working hard to make the meager amount of friends he had. Even after all he's been through he was still alone in the very end. Depressing. He couldn't help it, really-that he didn't want to be alone. The thought scared him. The thought of that dark place they condemned him to, the place where he had to be alone all of the time and where it was quite and silent. Saddening. Alone. Frightening. Dark. Depressing. He hated it.

He hated being alone. He had always been alone. Always he had watched the other children play on the grounds while he stood there without anything to do but mope. He never had the love of a parent. Never had the pleasure of a friend. Not ever had he had the comfort of a plushy like the other kids. He was hated. Condemned and cheated of life.

But he kept walking forward, because he couldn't stand the thought of going backwards. He never stopped moving, in fear of stopping and never starting again. He never looked back, in fear of those cold damning eyes that bore into his very essence and killed him from the inside out. He didn't waver in the face of a challenge, the fear of falling and never getting back up gnawing at the back of his mind. Because he knew that he wasn't cared for enough that someone would pick him back up and push him forward again. He had only himself to trust, only himself to rely on. And it would stay that way, it would remain the way it was until the day he dies.

He had a fierce fiery independency that would be forever and never go out. For he had always been alone, never had a shoulder to cry on or arms to run to when the going got tough. He'd gotten used to it. It was something he'd learned to live with.

"Naruto!" A voice broke him from his almost-meditation and he jerked up, glaring at the offending figure. The boy just smirked. "We just got back, here's you're things." Naruto smiled gratefully, still shocked that Sasuke would go to the troubles of buying Naruto's things for him. He even went to the troubles of transforming into a boy with Naruto's build so that he got the clothes he would fit. The only downside was that Sasuke was the one picking the clothes, so he always got emo-looking black ninja clothes. But then again, Sasuke was the one paying for it.

"You owe me." Naruto grinned at Sasuke, knowing that he did and not really minding. "This is the second time you've ruined your clothes beyond repair this week, it took me ten minutes to convince the shopkeeper I'm not selling his clothes for cheaper prices."

"It's not really selling if you're practically giving them to me, Teme." It wasn't much of a insult anymore, more like an exasperated-fond nickname. The said Uchiha smirked a grin, rolling his eyes and turning away. "Well I'll see you tomorrow. Don't fail again."

Naruto just rolled his eyes. "It's that stupid Clone Technique. I just can't get it down. Hinata-chan keeps on getting me to improve my chakra control but it just won't help me. All I get is this stupid looking pale replica that can hardly stand properly."

Sasuke hummed. "Try making more."

"What?"

"More, as in, larger in number, Dobe."

"Teme, I know what you mean, just why?"

"I read in the Uchiha archives when I was little that some of my family used to have troubles with the technique because of larger chakra reserves. It said to spread out you're chakra more and make more clones."

Naruto grunted in understanding, looking at the sky. It was getting dark. "The test's in two months, right?"

"No," Sasuke's sarcasm leered it's ugly head. Though he said it so bluntly that one would have thought he was telling the truth. Sasuke wasn't a very witty person."It's next year and in fifty-two months."

"That makes no sense whatsoever Teme." Naruto groused. "But thanks anyways. I'll see you tomorrow, don't be late." _And pull a Kakashi._ There it was again. That voice. It sounded strange, and sent a weird sensation through him. Like it was connected somehow. It talked randomly, adding sarcastic or witty comments to whatever Naruto would say; he honestly didn't know what it was. The Voice knew things that he did not, and would be selective with what it would say.

Sasuke just raised a brow, noticing the way Naruto spaced off slightly after saying that. "Never, Dobe."

"Good, because I hate waiting."

Sasuke sighed. "Later."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah." They parted ways.

Naruto wondered when he was on the way home; what was that Voice? It was faintly... Faintly familiar. Something like deja vu with something you never did. An odd connection to something that you've never encountered before. Naruto sighed, letting it go for now. He shouldn't worry about this now, he had to practice the Cloning technique.

He unlocked his apartment door, ignoring the graffiti and the wreck that his door was. It had been like that ever since he was six, when the villagers went a little too far and finally got chastised for their cruel actions to his person. Walking to the sitting room, Naruto looked through the bookshelf that Hinata filled up for him. His eyes skimmed the titles, looking for something specific. He paused, and pulled out a book, looking at the cover , that was what he was looking for.

_**The Ninja Art Of: **__**SEALING**_

_**By: Jiraiya of the Sannin**_

Naruto eagerly opened up the pages, smelling the wonderful scent of the newly-minted pages. His eyes drank up the words hungrily, his mind memorizing them on the spot.

_The Fall of Fuin_

_From the very dawn of time, ninja from all over the world studied what was called 'Fuinjutsu'. Fuinjutsu was very common among male and female ninja alike; back in the 1300's Fuinjutsu was passed down from Master to Student. You couldn't be a successful ninja without proper Fuinjutsu training. That was until 1593, when Uchiha Kagura, the head of the small Clan of Sharingan weilders, invaded a small town based solely on Fuinjutsu. His men impregnated the villages women, spreading the Uchiha blood among the small town. This seemed __nonsequential at the time, but no less than thirty years later did the Uchiha invade another town, a bigger one. The current head of the Uchiha clan at the time, Uchiha Kagome (the only female head in history) ordered for the villages conquer. They were successful. In a bitter fight for power, her younger sibling, Souta Uchiha, overthrew his sister and conquered a small region ten years later. Fifteen years later, Souta's son Sousuke Uchiha conquered a large capital city, invading the town of Fuin-users and overthrowing it's leader. It was another twenty years (1646) until Keisuke Uchiha conquered a region in the east, later to be named the Fire Country._

_By this time the Council of Fuin were getting skittish; the Uchiha obviously were trying to climb their way up to power. But by then they were too late-the Uchiha had already conquered more than a fourth of the continent. Seventy years later they declared war against the Uchiha, minor clans joining in and fighting for their rights. By this time the Uchiha had made it clear: they wanted to rid the world of Fuinjutsu. _

_The war lasted ten years, and ended in 1667 on May 27__th__ when the Uchiha's banded together with their friendly rivals the Senjus'. This marks the fall of the Fuin._

_The Uzumaki Clan_

_The Uzumaki's were the only village to survive the war successfully. This is because of their location on the map-they were located near the Wave country, where the waters were dangerously wild. Not only did the walls of nature protect their forces, but also their Protection Seals. These seals were designed to protect and repel from any and all aggressive attacks from opposing forces. The seals were to warn as well as prepare for opposing forces. The Uzumaki were known for their very advanced sealing techniques, along with their long life spans (which were rumored to be results of a prototype Immortality Seal) and high chakra reserves (also rumored to be results of a seal). The Uzumakis were allied with the Senju's who had been cornered into allying themselves with the Uchiha; as a result, the Uzumaki and Uchiha held a tentative peace treaty. _

Naruto tsked silently as he read how the Uzumaki's fell to Iwa suicide bombers during peace times. Then how the Uzumaki's scattered around the world in order to conserve their bloodline. Naruto snorted, _that _worked out wonderfully. He kept on reading as the book moved on from the history of Fuinjutsu to it's Theory and Application. He sighed, this was what he was looking for. Not boring back stories. But, as Iruka-sensei once said (a long time ago), 'Those who don't know their History repeat it.'

Or something like that.

\=o=/

As Sasuke rushed through his daily routine, he thought up reasons for his surrogate brother would lie to him so obviously. He bit into an apple, hming thoughtfully as he strode down the streets to their 'family's meeting place.

_He could be afraid... _Sasuke thought, knowing his brother was very sensitive to hate. _But what could possibly make him so afraid as to lie?_

He shook his head, sighing. Surely Naruto would soon build up the courage to tell them what's on his mind. If Sasuke was anything, other than an avenger, it was patient. Sasuke snorted, yeah, patient. Naruto taught him that. Mostly by getting on his nerves. Sasuke sighed, looking up at the sky and contemplating how complicated Naruto made his life.

_At least I'll never be bored..._

_-.-_

Sakura was bored. So very very bored. The school was forcing her and her classmates to take extra-curricular activities, such as cooking and art. She honestly didn't see any point in it. Well, except for undercover missions, but she doubted that she would ever be good enough to actually go on those kind of missions. She had faith that she would never make it past the Chuunin rank. Sakura snorted, imagining herself with those god-awful green Chuunin vests that were mandatory in your wardrobe. Yeah, not going to happen. Like, ever. Why didn't they make them in red?

Sighing, she shook her head and focused on the task at hand, which included painting an apple in front of her. She hummed, eyes tracing the way the apple curved up and around then down again. She felt hunger start to naw at the center of her stomach, and wondered if she should have eaten more than a muffin this morning. Looking longingly at the Golden-Delicious fruit in front of her, she started getting together her paints. She had to have good grades to impress Sasuke-kun.

Her thoughts wondered at the mention of her True Love's name, and she started to wonder about their future together. First she had to stop Sasu-kun from befriending the orange-menace any more than necessary. But how? Obviously that idiot had to be tricking her Sasuke into being friends. Her mother always told her how horrible that boy was, and her mother was always right. Except for that one time that Sakura had corrected her on her taxes. Other than that her mother knew best.

Sakura huffed indignantly, feeling offended that Sasuke preferred that dunce to her obviously superior intelligence. It was insulting really, that the raven-haired prince was more kind to a useless orphan like _Naruto_ than someone as smart, pretty and popular as her. It was so irreverent that she wanted to scream. She was the Head Councils daughter for Pete's sake! Her father had more leeway than the whole Civilian Council combined. She'd been groomed and pampered to be Sasuke's bride since she could walk.

"You'r doing that wrong." A deep voice said from behind her, startling her out of her inner rant. She calmly turned, glowering at the sight of the one she was just raving about in her mind. Speak of the Devil and he shall arrive, as her father once said. Naruto stood there, painting clothes on and raising an eyebrow at her expression. He stood so calmly she wanted to hit him.

"I'll this however I want, Dunce." Sakura said dismissively as she turned back to her canvas. She heard more than saw Naruto guide her hand to do it the right way, and she had to admit he knew what he was doing. She resisted the urge to slap him for daring to touch her, she knew Sasuke wouldn't approve of that. Anyways, if he was offering to help her she would gladly use his services before throwing him away. It would be fun to bring him up just to drop him down where he belongs.

"See, you're supposed to let the brush flow across the canvas, like a lake. Try more graceful movements. Be confident in your ability to paint." She listened to his soft voice (he was almost whispering as they were in a quiet zone) as he explained the art of painting. It was almost calming. It would be if she knew of his evil schemes of making Sasuke hate her. "See, that's it..."

"There," Naruto let her hand go, and she looked at the painting they did together. It was beautiful, and she was almost convinced that Naruto was an okay person. Almost.

She frowned at the picture, and Naruto looked at her questionably. She just sneered at him, hiding her awe at the masterpiece. It just an apple for god's sake. It shouldn't be possible to make something so simple so amazingly awe-inspiring. He smiled knowingly, a little sadly, before excusing himself to work on his own project. She felt guilty, but shrugged it off.

Her mother was always right, after all.

(/OuO)/

Ino knew her mother was wrong. Naruto couldn't be that bad. She conceded that her fellow blonde was a little annoying, but that was no reason for her to hate the boy. When she was little she used to hang out with him. She missed the times when she and him would prank both Shikamaru and Chouji. _Whiskers, I used to called him Whiskers._

But now her mother insisted that the boy himself was a bad person to be around. That he was no longer safe. But Ino knew that the sunkissed blonde didn't have the heart to hurt someone. Especially someone who wasn't an enemy. Ino snorted, her mother was going nuts.

_Nineteen year old Ino Yamanaka stood protectively over her closest friend, eyes burning with the determination to keep him safe. Her arms were spread out beside her, her feet set into a determined position. She would not let her brother die. Not after all they've been through. She was vaguely aware that Shikamaru was calling out to her, tell her to leave him and save herself. She ignored the ridiculous request, shaking her head and staring down the woman in front of her. _

_"No, Shika-nii." She whispered, then louder. "I will not let you hurt him anymore, you bastard! This is far enought." _

_The woman laughed cruelly, but there was an apologetic look in her eye, as if she didn't want to do this. Inos eyes saddened. "I will kill you on the spot if you so much move against him! Don't make me regret this," Her eyes welled with tears. "Mother."_

Ino gasped, grabbing her head in pain as a headache pounded in her skull. Eyes wide, she stared ahead, not knowing what the heck that was. It was like she was looking at the world in someone elses eyes, like her family jutsus. But this time it was _herself._ She gulped, forcing her eyes to close, as they were unwilling to do so. She counted down from ten, _Ten, nine...eight seven...six, five. four... Three.. Two... One..._

The headache subsided for now, and she fought to keep it that way, using a family technique to calm her nerves. She swallowed as bile fought its way up, a nauseous feeling in her gut. The feeling reminded her of the time her father _Shunshin_ed her to a local training ground. Ino struggled against the feeling, aware of her father asking her what was wrong, and her mother if she was okay. She nodded, saying she just ate something bad this morning. They went and received some Pepto-Bismol as she fought back vomit, and soon she was lying on the couch with a cloth on her forehead. She closed her eyes, as the migraine fought its way to the forefront of her her skull once more.

_"Do not underestimate me, Bitch." her Mother sneered, "You should have listened to me when I told to you to stay away from that blonde-haired demon you call a Ninja." _

_"Stop it Mother." Ino groused. "You know as well as I do you don't mean that. You died. You're not alive anymore, this is only a shell of how you used to be. That god-awful snake-bastard is controlling you." Ino took a deep breath. "I won't hesitate this time, Mother. I'll kill you if you hurt Shika or Choji any more."_

_"Don't speak against me like that _girl!_" Her mother spat, but there was signs that she was fighting the jutsu. "I love you, I'm trying to protect you!"_

_Ino scowled. "Mother if you did truly want to protect me, you'd fight against that wretched technique and stop this at once." Ino created a shadow clone off of Naruto's energy (even this far away, Ino noted, I have access to it) and sent it towards her mother as a distraction. It didn't take long for her mother to fall by Ino's hand, both with tears in their eyes. Ino's mother, finally in control over something other than her eyes, said her last words "I was wrong"_

Ino gasped awake, bolting upright and startling her mother into wakefulness. Ino stared at her mother for a while, eyes widened, and tears building. "Mom! Mother!" she rushed to her mothers side, tackling the retired Chuunin to the ground. Her mother was shocked, they had been arguing when Ino suddenly had gotten sick. Why wasn't Ino mad at her?

Her question was answered when her Princess started babbling about some weird dream where Ino was forced to kill her. Her eyes softened, and she wrapped her arms around her daughter protectively. "Oh _Bara-chan_. That will never happen... You were delirious with a fever, hun. You wouldn't believe what I dream up when I'm in that state."

Ino sniffled. "I'm not a rose Mama, I'm a Cosmos." It was a little banter between the two, and odd way of saying 'I'm sorry' or 'it's okay' after an argument. "You know what you said before I woke up?" Ino's mother hummed curiously, stroking her daughters hair. "You said 'I was wrong', Mama."

Ino's mother laughed. "Well, we'll have to see how it goes than. I'm just worried my dear. Promise me that you've got it under wraps, hun; I'll consider letting your blond menace of a boyfriend over."

Ino looked affronted. "Mama, Whisker's is nice and all, but he's not boyfriend material or anything. Anyways, everyone knows he and Hinata are meant to be."

Ino's mother hummed, eyebrow raised. "Do I smell gossip worthy of a Yamanaka?"

Ino grinned. "Oh yes, Mother. The Hyuuga Heiress has a crush on the village pariah."

Lady Yamanaka scooted close, eyes interested yet tamed. "Do tell."

0-0

Naruto smirked at his raven-haired brother, armed crossed as they discussed possible ways to activate his Sharingan eye. "Well I could bombardier you with KI... Isn't fear for your life something that activates it?"

Sasuke nodded, then shook his head, confusing his blonde friend. "It is activated by fear for ones life, however, if you did it I would know you don't really mean it, and it would negate the wanted effect."

Naruto looked contemplative for a moment, before looking angry. KI started to leak out, in small amounts yet very, very potent. Sasuke looked shocked, and choked on his breath for a few moments as he had a hard time moving, let alone breathing. Naruto kicked it up a notch, and Sasuke's eyes started to leak red. Keeping it that way for a few moments, Naruto started panting at the exertion. Suddenly he dropped it, but Sasuke's eyes hadn't fully developed yet. He pouted. "I thought it would be enough." He grumbled underneath his breath.

Sasuke glared at him. "Dobe, don't do that again. You scared the shit outa me."

Naruto feigned innocents. "I don't know what you mean, Teme."

"_Naruto!"_

0.O

That's a wrap people! You know the drill! RRFF!

Thanks for waiting so patiently for the chapter, and yes. I worked to make this one longer.

Anne.


	4. III: Mizuki? What About Him?

_Usual disclaimer applies._

**Please note that I don't have a schooling higher than grade nine, some grammatical mistakes may be noted. Review to tell me.**

_Hindsight_

_Arc One: Learning From the Past_

_Chapter Three: Mizuki Isn't Even Worth Mentioning_

Sarutobi Hiruzen had been getting headaches for the past few weeks now, and it had been pounding at the crown of his skull ever since the latest school semester started. His eyes would start burning, and he'd have to close them for a moment or two. What transpired in those few precious moments was a shocker to say the least.

_Sarutobi smiled as his grandson babbled on about his new 'rival' Uzumaki Naruto. __H__e made __appreciative__ noises every once in a while, __confirming__ to the seven year old that he was listening. He chortled when the youngest Sarutobi started to rant about how he would become Hokage after Naruto did, saying he'd become the Rokudaime Hokage in no time. Leaning in, he ruffled the brunettes hair as the kid scowled up at him, smirking. "I'm sure, Kono-kun. Thank you for spending time with me, but I have some paperwork to do right now. Go talk to your special tutor for your new training regime." He gently pushed his grandson towards the door, smiling when the young kid glared up at him._

_He focused on his paperwork, working well into the night as he skimmed the contents of each and every paper. Silence had surrounded his office, and Hiruzen took the moment to relax his sore muscles and __emersed__ himself into his work. This was one of the less __appealing__ aspects of his job, but it was apart of protecting the village and he would do anything to protect the Great Tree. Even do this dreaded paperwork; it was important, no matter how __tedious it seemed._

_He smirked, feeling more amused than annoyed at a vendors underhand ways of gaining more power over his customers and how he would deal with the 'more rowdy' ones. He denied the contract, and moved onto the next one. This continued for a few hours, well into the night as he finished each paper and sealed it with a signature and a stamp. He sighed with great relief when he carefully skimmed the last document, signing it with obvious practice and flair. There was a knock on the door, short and business-like, and the old man glanced up frowning and motioning his ANBU Black-op soldiers to let them in. Jiraiya was escorted in, an uncharacteristic look of seriousness in his eyes. _

_Hiruzen straightened. "Jiraiya-kun. What is the matter? You usually come in through the window."_

_"I've heard news of the organization called Akatsuki, Hokage-sama." Jiraiya's use of his title coupled with his business-like demeanor set the old Hokage's nerves on edge. He motioned for his former student to go on. Jiraiya welcomed himself to a plush chair, sinking in and looking a good ten years older. "They're currently making themselves known in the Rice Country, I think that they plan on retrieving something Orochimaru had stolen after leaving them. It isn't looking good, Hokage-sama..." a troubled look overcame the Sannins face. "They're after the nine biju. I don't know what they're planning on doing with them after they've acquired them. But I'm certain it's nothing good." _

_The Hokage took out some sake for the two to share, sighing and closing his eyes as a stress induced headache came over him. What he'd give for his one of his wifes heavenly massages at the moment. "Jiraiya-kun, is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" _

_The man frowned, looking into his sake disk before taking a sip of it and placing it down. "No, old man. I'm just worrying myself over Minato's kid. If I had been there for him..." Guilt washed over the Sannins face as he gulped the sake disk and poured a new one._

_"There's nothing you can do about it now, kid." Sarutobi's face screwed with anguish. "He's gone through enough, I can't let the council get at him and they surely would if you took him in right now. Jiraiya-kun, we've done all we could, right now we just have to sit back and watch that troublesome blonde take on the Elemental Nations a-storm. He will go far, we both know that." The old man sighed, looking at his reflection in the sake cup. As he saw the wizened features of his face, he couldn't help but feel disgusted in himself. He wanted to do something about it, had to._

_He suddenly looked up, eyes set into a determined line. "Jiraiya." He wasn't talking to his student now, he was speaking to a frontline ninja during pre-wartimes. "When I've died, the council with insist on you to be the next Hokage, the Godaime. I want you to refuse." _

_Surprise washed over his students face. "But Hokage-sama!" He exclaimed, jumping up from his seat in protest. The sake disk tipped over, spilling it's contents across the desk._

_"I have faith that you would make an excellent Hokage, Jiraiya-kun." The old man reassured as he wiped up Jiraiya's mess with a cloth. "But this is a choice that you have no control over." Jiraiya sat back down with some reluctance, watching as the cloth soaked up the spilled sake. "You are to refuse the position and request that Tsunade-hime will overtake my throne in my stead." A protest was about to leave the Sannins lips, but the old and wizened leader shook his head. "I need you to take Naruto-kun out of the village Jiraiya. Train him. This Akatsuki isn't any joke. They will have people who will hurt him anyway possible to obtain the Kyuubi. Tsunade will have more than enough nerve to deal with the council after I've gone. Nerve that I don't have." Sarutobi looked out at the horizon, eyes saddening. "I've failed Minato-kun in ways I can't speak of, but we both know Tsunade is bull-headed and once she sets her mind on something that is it. Make sure she takes a liking to the boy. It will help us in the long run." _

_Jiraiya looked out to the village, and saw only a couple people that were out. It was late into the night after all. "If anyone could heal her old battle-wounds it would be that brat. I've haven't met him in person, but my toads have been watching over him for the past few years. The kids' got something in him, old man; something magnificent and beautiful, powerful. He's got this charisma that will make him a wonderful Hokage. I'll take him with me to retrieve Tsunade-hime." _

_Sarutobi smiled. "Teach him well, boy. And before you die, promise me this." He looked up at the taller man, eyes ablaze with a fire that Jiraiya had seen go out over long years of war and strife. "Promise me that you've given him his heritage." _

_Jiraiya shook his head, smiling. "If you mean the Rasengan and the Haraishin, I'm sure he'll master them in no time. But if you meant his estate and the money-only you can do that." _

_Sarutobi remembered the anger he'd seen in the blonde Genin's eyes when he'd left the office a week ago. "Something tells me he wouldn't want it."_

0000000000000000000000000000 000000

Sarutobi was an old man, and he'd seen many things. Experienced many impossibilities. Seeing the future, however, was something he'd never even considered possible. He'd opened his eyes, and hardly a minute had passed. It had felt like hours, but then again-the mind was something that worked faster than the body ever could.

Sarutobi just hoped that in the end everything turned out okay. Will turn out okay.

* * *

Naruto was quickly starting to grow more and more frustrated with Sakura. Yes, he loved her. Yes, he'd do almost anything for her. But her cruel treatment as of late was started to seriously grate of his very last nerve. With his excessive dreams and the stressful headaches and that damned Voice, his patients was at it's wits end. It was starting to annoy Naruto in ways that the blonde didn't know was possible, and Naruto was nearing wits end.

It saddened him, really. That Sakura was hidden by the haze that her deceiving mother had put up. Naruto wasn't sure if Sakura knew that he would willingly die for her. Die for anyone in the village, truthfully. Naruto snorted, surely that would never happen for him. How unworthy he was, as the son of a demon. _Kurama isn't that bad._ Naruto mused, looking out the academy window and into the dark stormy skies. _He's always been there for me..._

It was true. Ever since his dreams started-how long ago was that?-Kurama had been there. If to comfort him, or to tease him or to torture him, the guileful fox had been through it all with him. Not that Naruto trusted the crafty entity. No, while trust was something that was easily earned with Naruto, the dark fox was his only exception. Kyuubi wasn't that bad, but there was something behind that grinning face-a hidden agenda, a secret plan of some-sort; and while Naruto accepted it, welcomed it, he couldn't trust it.

"_Naruto!"_

Flinching, the blonde peered up from his Fuinjutsu: How To For Morons book and saw a fist looming over his face. He tensed, preparing himself for another Sakura Beating (as he's been calling it lately) as he cursed himself for not being able to fight back without guilt. Stupid heart. Naruto winced, closing his eyes at the expected impact, but opened his eyes again as it never came. Blinking, he peered over his book again, eyes widening at the sight before him.

Sakura was staring in shock at the person in front of her, face contorted in a mix of pain, horror, anger, and disbelief. Sasuke was holding her wrist in a tight grip, painfully as her fist unclenched at the pain. Sakura felt her wrist bones shift and crack, and she whimpered at the uncomfortable feeling. She wanted to glare at Naruto, at Sasuke, but if her mother ever heard of it then she would have been furious. Well, maybe not for glaring at Naruto, but glaring at the Great Uchiha was not really a good idea for someone of her stature. Or something like that.

"Sasuke-kun?" She asked in a fearful voice, hoping he would let go. She stared up at the raven haired boy, eyes pleading, she didn't want a broken wrist.

"I've tolerated your abuse towards Otouto for far to long, Haruno-san" Sasuke coldly stated, eyes steely. "You are to stop treating him as such now. I don't like useless fangirls like you," Sakura felt a pain in her heart at that jab. "but I hate people who hurt my family." He suddenly let go of her hand, slapping it away and looking disgusted at himself for touching her. She felt her hand throb at the sudden release of pressure, and she started rubbing it, feeling confused. What was so special about Naruto that Sasuke treated him like a little brother?

The pinkette watched in a sort of amazed confusion as Sasuke walked towards the seat next to Naruto's, she saw his whole being lighten up a little at the glaring blonde. Then she heard Naruto say something to her crush, "That wasn't nice, Sasuke. I hope you didn't break her wrist."

Sasuke scoffed. "I wouldn't be surprised if it did, Dobe. And don't give me that look, I've endured seeing her cruel nature towards you for too long." Sasuke looked meaningfully at his brother in all but blood. "I don't care if you tell me not to punish her for her actions. She's been a bitch for far too long."

Naruto looked affronted. "Excuse me, Teme; but that's really rude. I don't care what you say, she's a precious person of mine," Sakura's eyes widened, did Naruto really think of her like that? "Like you, Hinata-chan, and Iruka-nii. She just has a twisted way of showing her affections." Sakura looked at her feet, considering her actions and starting to feel really self-loathing.

Sasuke just shook his head, "I'm starting to wonder who dropped you on your head when you were a baby."

Naruto chuckled ruefully. "I can think of a couple people."

What did he mean by that?

* * *

Iruka watched the whole ordeal with calculating eyes, holding a clipboard that held the team selections. He wondered if Naruto could really bring the aspiring Team Seven together. Worry creased at his brow, and Iruka felt a headache start to pound at the back of his mind. Sasuke, he could understand being put on the team, even Kakashi, as Naruto had a way of healing broken hearts with his odd charisma; but he was worried about Sakura, the pinkette of the group. She might be a problem with her always blindly fallowing about Sasuke and arguing at every single remark that Naruto made.

He sighed, praying that Naruto would break her Fangirlism by the time they take they Chunin exams. Shaking his head, he clapped his hands, trying to gain the attention of the people in the classroom. Frowning when they looked up for a second before returning to their conversations, Iruka placed his clipboard onto his desk. _"Sit down and shut up, Brats!"_

Feeling more than a little frustrated that they sat down almost immediately afterwards, he started his 'your a ninja now, act like one' speech. Pleased when they all listened intently to his heavy words, Iruka started to call out the team selections. He droned out the first six teams, wanting to get to the interesting reactions faster.

"Team Seven: joint-taught by Anko Mitarashi and Kakashi Hatake, consists of Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka noted that Sasuke looked imploringly at Naruto, as if saying 'you better be right'. "Naruto-" He didn't get to say the blondes surname as the said boy whooped and high-five'd a satisfied looking Uchiha. He chuckled, and moved on. " and Sakura Haruno," Iruka paused, waiting for the fan-girl to make an outburst. When none came however, he just raised an eyebrow and continued on.

There was a murmur of confusion between Naruto and Sasuke, as Sakura nodded meekly in acknowledgment to her only rival in the brains department. Iruka raised a brow and continued on. "Team Eight: joint-taught by Kurenai Yuuhi and Yugao Uzuki, consists of Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuuga."

"Team Nine: taught by Genma Shiranui, is Shikari Shiori, Sango Sataoi, and Yuki Rikonobi...Team Ten: taught by Asuma Sarutobi, is Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi. Now, you're leaders will be here within an hour or so, I recommend you use this time to go out and bond with your team." Iruka dismissed his class, nodding in congratulations to Naruto on his way out.

Naruto leaned in to whisper in Sasuke's ear, eyes locked on one Sakura Haruno, who was sheepishly rubbing her still sore wrist and mulling over their team. "This is unexpected... I'd have thought..." He trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Nevertheless, Sasuke nodded. They both knew each other more than enough to communicate without words. Actually, that was how the 'talked' in the first place, more with fists than mouths.

_Okay. That's disgusting_ Naruto thought at the sudden mental image that popped up upon those words.

Shaking his head at the sheer stupidity of the randomness that was his brain, Naruto refocused on his new team. _Team Seven, it has a nice ring to it._ Naruto thought. He smiled. Yeah, Team Seven, his new family.

After all, since they were put in a squad together, they would probably be together for the rest of their lives.

* * *

Ever since Sasuke had nearly crushed her wrist, Sakura had been really irritable and sensitive. So when their sensei didn't show up after a wopping twenty-five minutes after he was scheduled to be there, she snapped. _"What. The. Hell?" _she suddenly growled, startling her otherwise silent teammates (except for Sasuke, he was cool like that). "Where. Is. That. Baboon. Of. A. _Sensei_?"

"Maa, Maa, Sakura-chan." Naruto placated, looking slightly nervous. "I'm sure he'll be here... Soon enough that is..." He seemed to calm when she stopped trembling with-ire? Frustration? Naruto honestly wasn't all that sure

"_Where is he!"_ She suddenly exploded at the top of her lungs (and she had _impressive_ lungs too) as she slammed a fist on the table. "I _swear_ if he's not here in ten minutes!" She inhaled, and was about to continue with her rant when the door slided open. She froze, and creaked her head to see their new Senseis heads peeking through the door. She thumped down into her seat before staring at her senseis in a disturbing way. "_Where_ have you _been?_"

"Team Seven?" Asked the male, looking slightly amused at Sakura's increasingly dangerous anger. Sakura noted his hair, and vaguely wondered if he was secretly old. Seriously, who had naturally gray hair these days? All Sakura could think of were the old people she knew. And that onetime assistant whatshisname, but his had a distinct blue tint to it. Sakura still suspected that his hair was dyed.

"You're old." Sakura blurted without thinking, before gasping and covering her mouth, horrified. She giggled nervously, scratching her lower arm in a rare show of bashful behaviour. However, the man didn't seem offended, just mildly amused. It was refreshing, really-that she didn't have to worry about what she was saying around him. With her mother, she has to be careful with everything, otherwise her Mum would basically explode on her and start cussing her off. She coughed, skittish and worried her sensei would kick them out right then and there for not being patient. Come to think of it, they probably took so long to test their patients and self-control; it was kind of disappointing that she was the first one to break.

"Not old, Haruno-san." The man said, his voice surprisingly young. He sounded no older then 23. "It's a family trait, ever heard of Sakumo Hatake? He was my father, the White Fang of Konoha," He eye smiled, as there was no way she could see his face except for his right eye. "Now, my cute little Genin, it's time to introduce ourselves. Meet me up in the roof in five minutes, max." The woman beside him snorted, and Sakura took the time to note that she was wearing nothing but a fishnet and a skirt.

"That's rich, coming form you, Hatake." she groused. "You're the man who's chronically late for everything." She said, before using the _Shunshin no Jutsu_ to go to the roof, four floors up. Their male sensei just sighed, waved, and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Sasuke blinked, arms still crossed and face of irritation melting into mild surprise. "Well that was sudden." He turned to his other male teammate, raising a brow at his contemplative expression. He snorted to himself, shaking his head and starting to fast-walk to the roof, "C'mon Dobe, Haruno-san, they're waiting for us." Sakura all but jumped at the sudden acknowledgment and fallowed after like a lost puppy, wanting to please her new teammates after her little wake up call. Naruto, in the meanwhile, just shook his head of any cobwebs and fallowed after his new team. Soon they were up at the rooftop, watching as Kakashi-sensei flirted ballantly with Anko-sensei. The three of the shifted uncomfortably, until Sasuke got fed up and cleared his throat. All three of them had irritated looks on their faces, and Naruto noted that Anko blushed and looked away stubbornly. He grinned.

"Right." Kakashi coughed, and pulled out his orange book as Anko sneered at him. "Now for our introductions. Lets have the wonderful Special Jounin Anko Mitarashi start off." He gestured lazily at their female teacher, flipping a page.

"As you kiddies know, my name is the Great Anko Mitarashi-sama! Remember it and don't wear it out!" The scantily clad sadist pointed to herself, standing proudly and smiling broadly. All three Genin shivered, all having a forboding feeling about the lady. "I like pointy things, causing people fear and pain, and Dango! I _dis_like, and you better hope this doesn't include any of you!" Her grin turned dark, and Naruto coughed in an attempt to relieve the tension. "Traitors, spicy stuff, and idiots! My hobbies include conducting tea ceremonies, eating dango, and training! My dream, well;" She suddenly turned serious, eyes darkening at an alarming rate. "my dream is to bring down a certain someone a peg or two, and fight toe on toe with Orochimaru of the Sannin."

Kakashi hummed uncomfortably, snapping close his book and looking sharply at his fellow teacher. "Anko." he said warningly, eye narrowed and posture straightening ever so slightly.

Anko just grinned at him, then turned to their students. "Now, who wants to go first?" When no one spoke, she sighed, and was about to point to Sasuke when Sakura spoke up.

"What about him?" She pointed to Kakashi, eyeing him suspiciously. "He hasn't done anything this whole timeexcept read that disgusting book!"

"Oh, me?" Kakashi said, eye smiling in a deceptively disarming way. "Lets see. My name is Kakashi Hatake, I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes, My..." He paused. "dreams for the future..." He trailed off. "Hm... As for _hobbies_..." He pulled out his little orange book and started reading. "I have _lots _of hobbies."

Sakura wasn't impressed at all. "All we learned is your name!" She said, pointing and standing up in her outrage. "What kind of introduction is that?!" Kakashi just smiled.

"Why don't you show me, ne Sakura-san? Do a good introduction for me." Was he... _Making fun_ of her?

Sakura frowned at him, ignoring the way Anko-sensei gave her a warning look and sitting down. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I like syrup covered anko dumplings, books and studying. I dislike idiots, any spicy foods, and people who are hypocritic. My hobbies include reading, studying and um..." She trailed off, looking slightly ashamed until she bounced right back up and smiled. "My dreams... I guess my dreams are to be a component Jounin one day and specialize either in Genjutsu or Medic Jutsu."

Kakashi hmed again, smiling in approval and gesturing to Sasuke. "And you, duck-butt."

Sasuke scowled at the jab at his hair, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like tomatoes, fire, training and sharp objects. I dislike sweets, idiots, fangirls, and a certain man. My hobbies include training, thinking, and hanging out with Hinata-san and Naruto-Dobe. My dreams are to destroy my brother, to become an ANBU captain, and to help Naruto with his dream to be Hokage"

Naruto smiled at him, before turning to Anko and Kakashi with a foxy grin. "I guess that makes it my turn then-ttebayo! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like Ramen, training, and learning new jutsu-ttebayo! I dislike liers, people who judge a book by its cover, and the three minutes it takes to make instant Ramen!" He laughed nervously when Sasuke gave him a dark look. "I also don't like _tomatoes_, _fire, and sharp objects_." He gave Sasuke a playful glare when the raven looked affronted. He had, of course, said this just to irritate his best brother "My hobbies are trap-making, training, and tending to my garden-ttebayo! My dreams are to earn respect from the villagers, protect my precious people, and to become Konoha's Orange Hokage-ttebayo!"

Anko rose a brow at that, seeing as the young boy wasn't wearing anything orange; but she guessed that the young Uchiha had something to do with that. Kakashi however, had picked up the small hint-slash-jab at his honesty, and looked away bashfully. 'Ahem'ing and gathering the attention of the young Genin-to-be, Kakashi once again snapped his book closed. "Now, meet me-sorry Anko-san, meet _us_ at training ground seven at precisely oh-six-hundred hours. Don't eat any food, you'll just puke it up anyways."

And with that, both senseis disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

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The next morning finds Naruto leaning against a tree, pouting as he read a book. _You'd think he'd be on time with Anko-sensei here..._ Naruto thought, flipping a page while memorizing the theory of advanced seals. He had started learning the bare basics maybe two months ago, and from there he did nothing but improve. There were some cases when he almost blew himself up, but other than that, he was a natural at it. He guess it had something to do with his heritage, seeing as he was an Uzumaki. Right now he was going over the rules and guidelines of in Jiraiya's words, 'how to apply dangerous-ass seals without killing yourself-medic recommended'.

"Hey, Dobe." Naruto looked up, smiling at his teammate and gesturing for him to sit next to him. "What's up?"

Naruto shrugged, smirking a grin. "Well, oh-so-glorified-Teme, I'm just studying some of these Advanced Seals. It's fascinating really; you see these symbols here? They're chakra conductors, really advanced ones too." Naruto pointed to a bunch of bull-crap looking squiggly lines in a column, and Sasuke couldn't help but wonder how the hell Naruto understood these. "See the one with the 90 degree arc fallowed by a 167 degree swirl? That one, is commonly used for weight seals and storage seals. In a few weeks I'm going to be able to use this baby. And see the one with the right 70-90 degree surv? You usually use that beside the one with the 30-10 degree one, it balances out the matrix of the design and-"

"Dobe. Japanese. Please." Sasuke interrupted, head pounding at the confusing bullshit Naruto was spewing.

"Sorry teme, I was just getting excited at it is all. These are really advanced swirly shit here, especially with this-" Naruto caught himself mid-ramble when Sasuke gave him a condescending look, laughing nervously. "Right. No seal lingo. Got it."

Sasuke sighed, pulling out his own Sealing For Beginners book, one that he borrowed from Naruto. On the sidelines there were notes and-or corrections, and Sasuke mainly was looking at those. It was easier to understand than the authors eternal ramble, one with confusing references and technical terms that Sasuke had a hard time understanding. It sometimes amazed him that Naruto could not only _understand_ this stuff, but also put into his own words.

The two just sat there, leaning against each other and reading their respective books, Naruto occasionally pulling out a piece of paper and making a Kage Bushin to test a theory or taking out a pen and putting in notes or corrections. It was not fifteen minutes later that Sakura came into the training ground, pausing at the two boys relaxed nature before just standing next to them. Naruto took note of her, and nudged Sasuke who looked up, nodding in acknowledgment to the pink haired girl before returning to his book. Naruto sighed, patting his side and inviting Sakura to join their group. Sakura did so with little hesitation, just sitting there awkwardly and shifting while the boys continued their studying. She coughed uncomfortably, turning to Naruto and saying, "Naruto I-" she didn't get to say anything more Naruto opened his mouth.

"Here's a beginners book on Seals, I think you'll find it interesting." Sakura could only accept it dumbly and start reading, dumbfound. She had been about this close | | to apologizing to her new teammate, and Naruto just brushed it off, instead giving her an opening to something she was mildly interested in. Eventually she leaned back, completing the triangle that was now Team Seven. They all sat there peacefully, occasionally turning a page, or Naruto sending off Kage Bushin to experiment with the seals.

It wasn't until they were all well into their fourth reading through their prospective books that their sensei's showed up, Kakashi placing (ironically) an alarm clock and placing it on a post, all the while reading his porn. Anko at the time was tying to strings together, bells tinkling at the end of them. The three of them looked up curiously, all putting their books away and just looking at them. An awkward minute later, the three said in a practiced tone, "You're late." It was almost as if they practiced it (which they did, Naruto had insisted 20 minutes after Sakura showed up). Both senseis shivered, they sounded so electronic while saying it-it was a little disturbing.

Coughing, Anko held her pair of bells up, cocking a hip and placing her right and on it. "Now my little gaki," She grinned at Kakashi when he snapped his book closed and gave her a sharp stare. "We have a little test for you. Get these bells and you pass."

"Now, now Anko." Kakashi said. "You forget that I have my own set of bells." He held his up jingling them and eye smiling. "Whoever gets the bells win, or pass-depends on how you see it. Now _my_ cute little Genin," his eyes snapped to Anko, a possessive tone in his voice. "You have until this clock goes off, at noon, or you go without lunch and are sent back to the academy." He held his hand up to prevent any objections. "You have to have a bell to pass. I'm an Elite Jounin you know, it won't be easy. If you want any chance at getting these little babies," Kakashi shook the bells for reference. "come at us with the intent to kill."

The three Genin looked at each other nervously, (well, Sasuke just looked at Naruto, he was still pissed at Sakura) gulping. This was going to be a long day.

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By the end of the test, Sasuke was tied to a pole, stomach grumbling; Sakura was looking nervously between the two boys, and her food; and Naruto was looking at Sasuke with pitying eyes. Eventually both teammates that weren't tied to a post stuck out peices of food to their Uchiha friend, Naruto looking away and Sakura watching her feet. Sasuke didn't say a word, just accepted their food and smiled a rare smile at them. When they all ran out of food, the skies darkened with Genjutsu, and both their sensei showed up looking pissed. Sakura squealed in fright, tripping over the bento and falling on her back. Naruto yelped in surprise, quickly standing infront of Sasuke who couldn't really defend himself. And Sasuke, well, he found himself staring at Naruto's back.

"You went against my orders and fed Sasuke food!" Kakashi said, a deep frown on his face. "You..."

"Pass!" Anko said cheerfully, eyes glittering with pride. "You see, you little magots, all our other teams had listened timidly with no regards to their starving teamates." She started as if she were telling a fairytale.

"The true test, the first one at least, was to test you're over all abilities, while the second was for teamwork." Kakashi cut in, causing Anko to pout a glare at him. "In Konoha we're all about teamwork and friendship. You see my little Genin, while it may make you scum to break the rules, or go against orders, it makes you worse than scum if you abandon your teammates."

Anko nodded sagely, before pointing to a lard granite rock off to the side. "That rock over their-can you see it Uchiha-san? Good. It's the memorial stone. All the MIA or KIA shinobi are engraved into that slab of earth. What we're trying to tell you kiddies," She said, her tone turning more serious. "Is that you don't want to cause one of you're teammates to be put onto that slab. A failed mission is better than a dead comrade. Remember that."

Kakashi eye smiled, a little sadly. "Now that that's done, get Sasuke off that pole and lets start your training."

Hours later, well into sunset, the said 'cute little genin' were as collapsed onto the grass, exhausted and reading scrolls with taijutsu kata on them. Sakura had been given the Violent Crane scroll, seeing as that was the one that the survey and physical examination recommended. Naruto had been given the Pouncing Dragon scroll, for the same reasons as Sakura. Sasuke had been given the Running Eagle style, as he was more of a hit and run type of guy. They were all memorizing the stances and catching their breath from a long day of figuring out their natural styles. The survey had been easy, it was a 'in this situation' type of test, and it took less than half an hour to fill out. The physical examination however, included stamina tests, flexibility tests, chakra tests, blood tests, and strength tests-all tests one could think of, including measurements and eye tests. That took the betterment of the day, and by the time it was done and over with all three Genin were sick and tired of hospitals and libraries. But in the end it was worth it as they had found a suitable style for all of them. They had until tomorrow to memorize the katas, and the three had agreed to stay at the training ground overnight to read them.

With the whole 'find your Taijutsu' thing, they had bonded a little seeing as the three all experienced the same discomforts. Except for the time Sakura had to learn that her bust size was a 32B. That was a little uncomfortable.

As of now, (the sky had started to grow darker) the three were unpacking sleeping bags and setting them aside while Naruto sent a clone to gather firewood. Talking idly, the three set up camp, Sasuke lighting a small fire with a E-Ranked Katon jutsu. "Do you think we should learn that, Naruto-nii?" Asked Sakura, pulling out a pillow from her small traveling sack. Naruto made note to add a storage seal to it when he got the chance.

"Learn what, Sakura-chan?" Asked Naruto as he plopped down near the fire. A flash of his dream appeared in minds eye, and he quickly turned away from it. He really hated those dreams.

"That campfire one that Sasuke-kun just used before he left for some game." Sakura said as she joined her now brotherlike comrade. Naruto had this way of becoming impossibly close to people without spending more than a day with them. "It seemed useful. I mean, what if Sasuke can't light one, like if he was commissioned and we had to set up camp by ourselves?" Sasuke had quickly refuted Sakuras belief that he was invincible halfway through the day.

Naruto hummed. It was a good point. "We'll asked the Teme afterwards. For now let's just relax."

Sakura sighed and leaned against Naruto, who seemed to be having an easier time recovering than she was. "Training from Hell they say! Shannaro! It's worse than hell!"

Naruto just laughed, a low rumble that Sakura felt from her leaning position. "It wasn't that bad Sakura-chan!" She gave him a dirty look. "Okay, it was. But it'll be worth it tomorrow-ttebayo!"

"You were always the optimist, Dobe," Sasuke walked in, carrying a dead hare by it's ears. "I'm still sore from when that doctor stuck a needle up my-"

"Not listening!" Naruto interjected, slapping his hands over his ears.

Sakura just giggled.

The three of them silently agreed, _life was good._

* * *

_AN: __So that's a wrap people! Please remember to RRFF and don't kill me with any flamethrowers! _

So before you ask-Naruto has the Kage Bushin because of the Mizuki incident. I just omitted it because it's to unoriginal and overused. Iruka knows about it, so does the Sandaime. And Konohamaru, well he's met Naruto already so don't worry about him much. He's already learned the Oiroke, and Naruto's variations of the Henge. If you're wondering about Sakura's sudden change in perspective-it's character development. Often times CD is unrealistic and sudden-so please don't complain. In Canon, it took just a little chastise from Sasuke for her to start being nicer to Naruto, so imagine the changes when Sasuke openly defends his otouto. Well that is it. Don't expect a chapter until say the 16th or the 23d, depending on my progress. See you people!


	5. IV: In the Eyes of A Too Loyal Fool

_Hindsight_

_Arc One: Learning From the Past_

_Chapter 4: In the Eyes of A Too Loyal Fool_

Anko Mitarashi-Special Jounin and the sexy second head of the interrogations unit. She was also a second hand teacher for her close friend Kakashi Hatake. The three little brats, as she loved to call them, were simply put-amazing. It wasn't everyday you met the last Uchiha, who was best-friends with Konoha's resident Jinjuuriki. Then there was the Medic-Genjutsu prodigy Sakura Haruno, who didn't even come from Shinobi backgrounds. She liked to think she had a hand in teaching the next Sannin. Yes, that was how good they were. They impressed the very unimpressionable Anko Mitarashi-the strict teacher with a playful attitude-to such a level. The three little Sannin to be were quickly becoming the talk of the Jounin/Chuunin Lounge. Many wanted a hand in teaching the three their arts. Even the Uzumaki brat, who they used to look at with scorn.

Why? Because the day after the two sensei had gotten them their new taijutsu scrolls, they had already memorized all the kata and possible combinations they could use. Their mind had already knew the moves and transitions, their bodies just needed to catch up with the muscle memory. And even then, the progress they made was phenomenal! They had the basics down within a week! Intermediate styles in two! She had high expectations for her little Gaki. She knew that they would go far.

She smiled to herself, walking down the Konohan streets and ignoring many other peoples jeers at her appearance. She was on her way to their training ground, to the Bridge Of Team Seven, as her kiddies had dubbed it a week after training started. She had a distinct skip in her step, she was excited. Today was the day that they started out on specialization, and she was sure she'd get to have the pinkette all to herself that day.

She paused. She loved the kids hair, really, but it was too long. The girl didn't even put it in a ponytail. Snorting, she put it on the list of things she had to fix, which was admittedly not that long anymore. Short quasi-lectures and small tips had helped change Sakura's attire into something more kunoichi like and less fashionable. It helped that Anko had the whole team to back her up about that mesh armor idea. She smirked, now she just had to convince the little gaki to put black streaks in her hair.

_Ooh!_ Anko thought excitedly, eyes gleaming as she jumped up to the rooftops _Maybe I can get her started on Senbon and poisons! _

Oh yes, life was good for Anko Mitarashi. Especially since after tortur-training her kiddies she got to _torture_ some poor fool who dared oppose Konoha. She grinned, licking her lips and eyes glinting hungrily as she landed on the archway of their bridge. She couldn't wait until she tasted the blood of her next victim.

* * *

_Pain. Pain suffering fire pain blood fire. Shock agony pain. __O__h god it hurt it hurt it hurt. __M__ake it stop pain make it stop! __O__h god his arms were gone his eyes were gone. __B__lind darkness pain pain pain. __V__oices loud voices and pain. _

_H__e couldn't concentrate. __H__e couldn't tell what was happening. __H__e didn't know who he was. _

_pain pain anguish fire pain. _

_H__e was sure he was screaming, he was positive he was begging for mercy, but he couldn't truly tell over the _pain_. __E__bbing between the barriers of __consciousness__ and toeing the line of Death he didn't know what was happening. __A__ll he knew was pain. __H__e was pain. _

_pain pain dark pain fire pain-what is she doing with that spoon?-oh god _PAIN!

_H__e'll never eat again just stop the pain! _

_"Who are you?"_

_H__e gasped, and suddenly he was aware of his surroundings again, aware of himself. Aware that he wasn't really injured. "Not..." He gasped, panting at the __excursion__ of talking after that Hellish experience. "Telling... Bitch..." _

_And then it started all over again. _

_He screamed, he thrashed, he flailed and he bit. But the pain didn't go away. __T__here was fire there was ice and there was pain. __D__ifferent types of pain. All pain. Starvation, famish, ripped tendons, eternal bleeding and broken bones. The spoon again! Oh god she brought out the spoon! _

_Pain pain pain fire pain._

_"Who. Are. You?" Her voice was steely, she stared at him with irritated eyes. __S__he didn't know his pain. she didn't know his anguish. __S__he could go to Hell._

_"Oto... Bitch" once again he held strong, he couldn't brake. __T__his war could be holding onto him, their victory was in his hands. He kept his family in mind, these scumbags wouldn't brake him. "I wont... __S__ay a thing." _

_She smirked, and flipped the switch. _

_And it started all over again._

* * *

There wasn't much he could do, not after that experience. Like a flash-bomb it came and gone, quicker than he could blink. And that was it. He experienced days and days of that repetitive pain, over and over and over again, all in a blink of an eye. When it was over he dropped to the floor, panting and sweating after going to Hell and back in under a minute. And them he vomited. Bile rose from the depths of his stomach, acid burning the innermost walls of his throat. He hardly noticed, it was literally nothing compared to The Spoon. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and he looked up, eyes searching the face of his worried sensei.

The comforting aroma of smoke engulfed him, and he took a deep breath. He could really use a drag at the moment, but he didn't say anything about it. Right now he wasn't the one his Hokage counted on. He was a lowly Genin. A Rookie at that. Right now he wasn't the Head Commander during War. He was a member of Team Ten. A lazy genius that loved Shogi.

But he still had to talk with Naruto about this. For now, he just had to lay low and focus and assuring his teammates, the Kings, that nothing was wrong. Right now he had to be Shikamaru Nara. This was such a drag...

Kick breath punch breath guard breath... The repetitive routine of Naruto's Pouncing Dragon kata was so relaxing, he could do this for hours. He could forget about the voice and the dreams. He had another that night, and he couldn't focus during the missions. He had really worried his teammates, mostly Kakashi and Sakura. Sasuke, who was used to his spacing out and odd behaviour at times just nodded at him in understanding and continued on with his day. He knew when not to be a bother. Anko had cut away from them, having a job to take of at the interrogations department-meaning that she couldn't be there to fuss over him.

If Naruto were to be completely honest with himself, he would admit (even if begrudgingly) that he loved to be fussed and worried over. He was also very uncomfortable with it. All his life, he had been ignored and ridiculed, so when all of a sudden people started _caring_ he didn't know what to do with himself. It made it awkward to be cared for, because he wasn't really sure how to react.

So when Sakura suddenly asks Naruto what was wrong, he doesn't know what to say. Or do. So he just shrugged, muttered a 'It's nothing' and continued with his weeding. He didn't look back to see her reaction, didn't look to the side to see Kaka-sensei's reaction and certainly didn't look back to see Sasuke's reaction. By the end of the day Naruto was scaring the hell out of Sakura, worrying Kakashi, and causing Sasuke to scowl. He excused himself, feeling really awkward and embarrassed.

It was pretty much safe to say that he had a long day and wanted to relax. And so he finds himself practicing his taijutsu, concentrating solely on this one task. Like Fuinjutsu, doing it calmed his frayed nerves. Unfortunately he was out of sealing supplies and couldn't work on that. For now, he could only work on the other thing that calmed him-taijutsu practice. That was at least until he made some more money to get more sealing supplies.

"Naruto-kun?" Sakura-chan tentatively approached him. She knew he was feeling extra jumpy today. Naruto frowned at her cautious steps, the way she approached him made him feel like a rabid animal. Like he would attack her at any moments notice. It made him feel like a monster. "Are... You..?"

She trailed off, and Naruto looked at her expectantly, prompting her to finish. She seemed to gain confidence from this, as she continued without anymore hesitation. "Are you alright today Naruto-kun? You seem kinda... Off." She looked as if she wasn't really sure what to call it.

Naruto sighed, and sat down in the grass. Sakura wasn't like Sasuke, she wouldn't back off if he wanted some space. She would insist on knowing, on helping. "It's nothing Sakura-chan." It felt like he repeated that sentence at least a million times that day. It came out automatically now.

"No it _isn't!"_ Sakura suddenly exploded, and Naruto bolted up in surprise, eyes widened. "You seem so depressed today! What the hells going on!?" She panted, struggling to reign herself in. She was frustrated god dammit!

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto didn't know what to say. For the thousandth time that day he was shocked into submission at his friends ability to _care_.

"Now tell me! What the hells wrong?" Sakura plopped down, and Naruto frowned her. As he did this, he noted how different she was compared to their academy days

In the course of the past two months she had changed drastically. Gone was that pretty red dress she used to wear. She was now wearing a jet-black mini-skort and a bloodred dark T shirt. She had cut her hair once during a sparing match when Sasuke pulled on her pony tail, and now it was designed in a short, sensible bob. She had foregone her previous dark blue ninja sandles, opting for dark colored knee-high fighters boots. She wore her headband around her neck in a black rope, almost like a necklace. To top it all off, she had a black mesh body armor on top of her whole outfit.

Naruto almost smiled, she had really grown out of her fan-girl faze.

He himself had really grown aswell, both in a literal sense and a metaphorical one. He now stood at an impressive (for his age) 5'6", not the shortest in the class anymore. He had went through an amazing growth spurt in the past few months, and was now just a little taller than Sasuke by an inch or two. He had lost most of his baby fat, his face a little more defined.

As for clothing, Sasuke was still buying him clothes (but from a different shop, since the owner had kicked him out for reasons unknown) so he still wore darker clothing than usual. He now wore jet black combat pants, along with a dark orangish reddish black T shirt that was much like Sakuras. He wore his village symbol connected to a chain belt around his waist, a large contrast to the usual cloth most ninja usually used. Like his pink haired teammate he wore combat boots, though they weren't exactly knee high. He had grown his hair out a little, and now it hung low against his face, barely brushing against his eyes and giving him a little more mature look to him.

Shaking out of his betraying thoughts, Naruto focused on the matter at hand. Now wasn't the time to admire how awesome they looked! Stop procrastinating dammit! He sighed.

"Nothing's wrong per se..." Naruto trailed off, feeling uncomfortable. The trees surrounding them seemed suddenly really interesting. "I just... Get n-nightmares... From time to time is all..."

It was hard to get out in the open. He hadn't told _anyone_ of his dreams. But after it was off his chest he found he felt a little... Relieved. Like a huge weight had been lifted off of him. Sure, he hadn't really specified what _kind_ of dreams he had been having, but having someone know about them is so..._W__onderful_.

That was until Kakashi showed up and asked, "What sort of nightmares, Naruto-kun?" He had this worried, warning look about him, and Naruto felt his heart melt. Was this what feeling care was like? Not the silent and embarrassed kind that Sasuke gave him, not even the behind the scenes kind that the old man and Iruka gave him... But it was out in the open and _real_.

"Just..." Naruto felt kind of awkward when talking about himself. "...nightmares..."

"About... That night...?"

Kakashi knew?!

Naruto's head snapped up so fast you would have thought he broke his neck. "That night..?" He had to confirm that they were talking about the same night.

Kakashi made a show of feeling distressed at the question. "You know..." He coughed. "That night... When the villagers..." He glanced at Sakura, not wanting to elaborate. After all, she was still fairly innocent. She hadn't felt blood flow through her fingers like most of Team Seven had. Kakashi wanted to protect that. Even Sasuke wanted to protect that.

Oh... So he meant _that_ night! Not _the_ night. Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and slumped. Well, if Kakashi wanted to give him a way out, there was no reason that Naruto wouldn't take it. "Yeah, _that_" Naruto all but spat it out, like it was venom. "Night."

It might as well have been venom. That night had tainted him, almost as much as his _Dreams_ had. It had been his introduction to Death, his introduction to the horror that was destruction. And it would haunt him for the rest of his life. His first kill, and on top of that-he hadn't been a virgin ever since his fifth birthday. He had to stay in the T&I department for a couple days after that, and a kind man named Inoichi had helped him through the aftermath. He'd never been the same after that though.

Shaking his head, he fought off flashbacks, falling to the ground and-

The world seemed to spin, everything seemed to blur, and the whole universe around him distorted until-

Darkness.

* * *

His codename was ROL124, a short version of Root Operative Leader Number 124. He had no real name, and most of his Squadron (which consisted of two other RO's, numbers 25 and 96 to be precise.) just called him Leader. He had been raised as a shinobi, as a tool for his Leader. Danzou Shimura-sama, the HR1 of their secret organization. HR literally meant 'Head of Root', and there had only ever been only one HR in the history of Root.

ROL124 sighed, a rare show of any emotion as he painted a snow-tiger.

"ROL124!" A sharp command came, and said operative deftly put away his supplies and stood at attention.

"Hai, SH21?" ROL124 asked in his usual monotone.

"You have a mission for your Squad. Donnot fail it." ROL124 caught the thrown mission scroll with ease, getting straight to business and reading it. He nodded, calling for RO25 and RO96 on his ROOT SEAL. He waited patiently for around 3 minutes, raising a brow at 25's slight stumble. 25 was a new recruit, replacing the old 25 who had died on a mission. So it was a little understandable-If unacceptable-that 25 was a little clumsy.

"25. 96. We have a mission. Be ready for a three day travel, you have ten minutes. Go." 124 said, before using _Shun-shin No Jutsu_ to go to his ward. Grabbing a scroll for a weeks travel (it was a rule to be always prepared. The RH punished you otherwise), ROL124 placed it in his hip pouch-

_"Sai!" Sai almost jumped out of his skin, turning around with one of his scrolls halfway unraveled before he realized there was no threat. He glared at his Hokage, lips set into a thin line. He didn't say anything however, just indicated the blonde to continue on._

_"There's been a breach in the Eastern Sector! Section 56, Wall B! Gather your squad, and Haruno's too!" Sai nodded, jumping off to gather his squad. Once he got them all together, (Kiba, Shikamaru, and Sakura) they rushed to the Eastern Sector, each steeling their nerves for another encounter with the Oto ninja. _

_"Which strategy, Shikamaru?" Kiba asked in a hushed tone, eyes widening when there was an explosion nearby. _

_"42-1b!" Shikamaru replied, calculating eyes watching Squad 23 (Neji's Squad) fought off some Oto Ninja. "Formation 2" _

_Kiba made a face, and nodded. "I don't like it" He said gruffly, "But you're the genius..."_

_Shikamaru managed a smirk, eyes glinting almost dangerously in the moonlight. "Well it's not like I'm going to let them ruin our anniversary would I?" The answer wasn't for Kiba, anyone who knew the cloud watching Jounin knew that. It was for the heavens, and who had previously ascended to them. The answer was for his Jounin Sensei, Asuma Sarutobi._

_Sakura backhanded the vengeful Jounin Commander gently, a small smile on her face. "Remember we're in War, Shika-kun. It's our job to protect the Kings."_

_Shikamaru's face grew grave, and he nodded resolutely. "Hai, Sakura-chan. You're right. I got distracted."_

_Kiba sighed at his teammates antics, smiling softly and wishing Shino was there. "C'mon guys! We have some Oto-ass to send to hell!" He shouted in a very Naruto-like fashion, before lowering his voice. "I for one, don't want the enemy forces to reach the Outpost." _

_Sai nodded, eyes half lidded in determination to protect their village. "Aye," He said gravely, before his eyes widened and he jumped in front of Sakura, arms spread. He forgot all his previous training, all his previous emotional shutdowns, and protected his second favourite teammate with his body. He grunted as the Oto shinobi attacked, taking the full brunt of a attack meant for Sakura._

_He took a fatal wound, blood gushing out of his chest and gut as he coughed up some of his stomach fluids. "Sa-Sakura..." He managed through the pain, "Pr-tect... Na-Naruto... Don't let me down... Remember our way... Of a... Team... The... Way... Th-..." He coughed, staggering._

_"Don't talk!" Sakura commanded, but the effect was lost in her quivering voice. "Save your breath and don't you _dare_ speak as if these are your last words!" She lowered him down as the rest of her team fought against the enemy with cold anger and vengeance. "I'm going to heal you! And you'll be okay, so don't!" Sai smiled sadly, knowing that they both knew that he was on his last legs. War had exhausted him, exhausted everybody. He had already been tried and low on chakra when there had been the breach. He had no energy to fight now, not even enough to hold off Death long enough for Sakura to work her magic._

_"Let me fin-sh..." He slurred, being assertive for the first time in his life in Team Seven. "Just... Rem'mber... Never leave... You...re.. Comr-ds... To die...that...is.. Our... Ninja-way.." _

_"You idiot..." Sakura sobbed, hands faltering in her emotional war as she struggled to keep the bleeding down. She herself was low on chakra, and soldier pills could only do so much. "Don't speak like that..."_

_Flashes of his time as a true Konohan zipped and danced in his minds eye. That time when Kakashi almost sacrificed himself for his team, when Naruto had led them to stop their team leader. When they were on a mission to track down Sasuke. When they were in the hospital, and Sakura had pounded them (both literally and figuratively) for 'being stupid assholes'. During that little skirmish with the Sky Country, and the time Naruto had been taken to that island for an assassination attempt on the Raikage. And finally, when Naruto had taught Sai the meaning of comrades. Of teammates, of friendship. _

_Sai smiled, it was one of his rare, true smiles. "Ugly." He muttered, using his old nickname for her. Sakura cried even more, the term had turned affectionate not to long ago."Tell... Dickless...I'm sorry." And with that, he breathed his last breath. _

_The last thing he heard was Sakura screeching in rage and sorrow._

ROL124 gasped, eyes widening in shock. No, not ROL124. He was Sai. Member of Team Seven. And right now, he had a mission to protect Sasuke Uchiha at all costs. He smirked softly. The setting was so perfect.

With that thought in mind, Sai _Shunshined_ to his 'teammates', a small fire in his eyes that wasn't there before. He wasn't ROL124, not anymore. He was Sai, and he would protect his Team at all costs.

* * *

_**"Come here." Kurama said coaxingly, gesturing with his chakra for Naruto to come closer to the cage. He grinned, a dark grin, filled with anger and vengeance. But if you looked closely, you could see a small hint of paternal love for the boy in front of him. Naruto didn't look closely, he saw what was in front of him, he saw the beast who inadvertently ruined his life. He saw the Guileful Fox that almost killed him when he was three. **_

_**"You're an ass." He muttered, glaring up at the ginormous animal in front of him. "I won't fall for that trick again, Kurama. What did you call me here for? Why didn't you just wait until I fell asleep naturally?"**_

_**"Wait? Me?" Kurama laughed mockingly, a low rumble that sounded oddly like a growl. "I wouldn't wait for you if my life depended on it! Now, you useless hairless ape, I have a proposition for you..."**_

_**Naruto sighed, "If it involves letting you out of your cage I'm not doing a thing." **_

_**"Don't interrupt me!" Kyuubi growled out, "Insolent whelp. You should be honored! The Great Kyuubi No Kitsune, the King of all Demons! Is giving you a deal! And to a lowly Mortal like you I must add!"**_

_**Naruto sighed, plopping down into the dark murky water and eyeing the fox suspiciously. "What do you want? And what do I get in return?"**_

_**Kyuubi grinned. "It's quite simple, you hairless bimbo! In exchange for letting me see the outside world, I'll let you borrow my chakra every once in a while!" **_

_**Naruto narrowed his eyes. "That's it? I do that anyways, you usually do so when you sense killing intent."**_

_**"Fine-!" Kyuubi growled, and Naruto had the strangest feeling that he was pouting. "If you're going to be like that I'll give you the deal breaker! I get to see the outside world... And I'll modify your body to regenerate! Not that slow ass healing the Uzumaki blood in you gives you, but the real deal! As in, you cut off your arm, it'll grow back no problem in less then a day! And the more injuries you recover from the faster it happens!"**_

_**Naruto sighed. "Why do you want to see the world from my eyes anyways? Whats in it for you?"**_

_**"It's boring in here, whelp. The scenery constantly changes, yes, but there's nothing to **_**do**_** in here!" Naruto couldn't believe it; the 'Great Kyuubi No Kitsune, King of all Demons' was... **_**Whining**_**.**_

_**"What do I have to do?" Naruto groaned. "And what are the consequences of me doing it? Tell me all of them!"**_

_**Kurama grinned like a cheshire cat, pleased. "All you have to do on your part, is rip off a tiny corner of the seal; what that does, is give you more immediate access to my chakra, and allows me to see, hear, and smell everything that you do. That includes when you're asleep. But you can cut off the connection at anytime, seeing that you Mortals have those private moments to yourself. It also allows me t-" Kurama cut off, cursing. "I really shouldn't have said that." He muttered to himself, and Naruto almost sighed in exasperation. **_

_**"What does it allow you to do, Kurama?" Naruto asked tiredly. He really didn't want to deal with the fox's attempts to get free right now.**_

_**"It allows me to take over another fox in the outside world, with your permission." Kurama grumbled. "It's so fucking **_**boring**_** in here, Uzumaki!"**_

_**The blonde sighed, walking up to the cage and making the water underneath him rise up to allow him to reach the seal. Stretching his fingers out, he took the tip of the seal, and ripped it off.**_

* * *

Naruto groaned, sitting up gingerly and rubbing a sore spot on his head. "Ugh, what hit me?"

"I wouldn't say the rock hit you... More like you hit the rock." Was Sakura's reply before he realized he wasn't alone. He blinked, looking up at the girl who was holding a glowing hand to his ankle. He frowned, pulling his leg away from her. "You have amazing healing rates, you know that?"

"Mhm." Naruto grunted, feeling a headache starting to attack at the back of his mind. "Tell me about it."

"Well for one thing, there's this thing when-" Naruto tuned out Sakura's ramble, smiling gently and nodding absentmindedly. He cracked his neck, making Sakura wince at the sound and complain about him being crude. Naruto just laughed, and waved her off.

"By the way, what was that whole thing about last week, when you collapsed?" Sakura asked, eyeing him worriedly.

Naruto chuckled nervously, looking away. "It was just... Exhaustion." He lied through his teeth, hoping Sakura would buy it. She didn't, and pressed on for the real answer. Looking way, the blonde watched as some Bluebirds sang to each other. "It's nothing Sakura-chan. It's just something I have to deal with on my own."

Sakura herself sighed, "I just want to help you Naruto-kun, I just...feel so guilty... About our academy days." She yelped when Naruto suddenly was up in her face, scrutinizing her as if she was something really intriguing.

"You're still going on about that, aren't you?" It was more of a rhetorical question than anything else, but Sakura nodded nonetheless. "Look, it doesn't matter anymore Sakura-chan. I've already forgiven you, so why can't you forgive yourself?"

"Naruto-kun-" Naruto held up his hand, cutting off Sakura from anything she was about to say.

"Look Sakura-chan, it doesn't matter to me anymore if you were not there for me then, what matters is in the here and now." Naruto sighed, he didn't like talking all serious, to anybody really. "All that matters to me, is that you're here for me right now, that's all that I need to know Sakura-chan."

Sakura almost cried right there, it always amazed her how big his heart was. His ability to forgive and forget, his ability to give love to anybody who would accept and-or return it. It was these times-when Naruto opened up his heart to people-that she looked forward to, because it always left her feeling lightweight and free. She gulped down her tears, standing straighter than she had in days, and said, "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled his true, heartfelt smile, replying. "No problem Sakura-chan! Now how 'bout we go for some Dango!?"

Dango had really grown on Naruto during their time as a team, and now he was eating it almost as often as he used to eat at Ichiraku's. Of course, once Sakura learned of his poor eating habits (though at the time she was still on the Diet phase), she forced him to eat healthier. Thus his huge growth spurt. Now that his body had the proper nutrients, it had enough energy to spend on growing and developing.

"Sure! But you have to _promise_ that when you get home you'll eat a salad!" Sakura smiled sweetly, almost scarily.

Naruto laughed nervously, nodding. "As long as I get to have some Beef Ichiraku Ramen on the side!"

Sakura just rolled her eyes. "Hey, do you know where Kakashi and Sasuke are?" She asked, just dawning on her now that they hadn't seen the Emo Duo for about two days now. Naruto shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure that Sasuke's helping Hina-chan with something...not sure what though. And Kakashi..." He trailed off. "Hm... I think he and Anko... Are... going..." He coughed. "They're on a mission."

Sakura eyed him carefully, searching for any hint of lying. Finding none, she let it slide and moved on to a more comfortable subject. "How's the Fuinjutsu training going?" She asked mildly, buying two apples from a vendor and giving one to Naruto. She smiled when he made a face at it, but bit into it anyways.

"It's going good, I'm starting to use the seals usually meant for sealing powerful objects-slash-things" Naruto said after he swallowed. Sakura had taught him basic etiquette, and it showed. "It's really intriguing, ne' Sakura-chan. How are you doing on you're Seal studies?"

Team Seven must have been the only team in history that used Seals for almost everything.

"I'm just starting to comprehend the symbols for Gravity Seals and Weight Seals. I didn't think they were any different, but..." Sakura trailed off, shrugging in a 'there you go' motion.

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, I was confused about that too, but after researching on it, and don't give me that look Sakura-chan, it started to make allot of sense." He grinned, looking up to the sky. "You know the double swirl tripple triangle one? Well _that's_ the one used for Gravity seals, while the double triangle and the triple swirl is the one for Weight Seals."

Sakura blinked, "Why the hell didn't I figure that out on my own?"

Naruto chuckled, ruffling Sakura's hair and dodging her vengeful fist. "It's 'kay Sakura-chan! Took me a while to figure it out too."

Sakura just sighed, straightening out her hair. Naruto was so exuberant sometimes.

"So I heard you and Hinata-chan are starting to date now?" Sakura asked offhand-like, but her eyes were examining her blonde teammate carefully, searching for any sign that it was true. She smirked when he froze, and looked away with reddening ears.

"W-well, we... _Did_ go out one _one_ date..." Naruto replied, fiddling with a kunai and feeling oddly bashful. "But her father is... Reluctant, to let me date her. Clan heiress and all, you know. Said something about the elders wanting a Caged Bird seal on me if I were to marry Hina-chan. She's not excited at all about that, exploded in Hiashi-sama's face. Needless to say..."

Sakura's eyes softened. "You're forbidden to date her?" She asked quietly, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Naruto smiled at her, but it was strained, something Sakura came to know as his Mask.

"Yeah, Me and Hina-chan are waiting it out, you know, till those baka-elders keel over. Won't be long need to tell you-one of them looked like he was bout to have a heart-attack when I walked in." Naruto laughed dryly, feeling guilty at looking forward to someones death, greedy bastards or not. "Hiashi-sama actually agreed with us."

Sakura's eyebrows almost got lost in her hairline (which was saying allot), "Re-really?! I'd have thought Hiashi-sama would have gone all 'overprotective father' one you!"

Naruto shook his head, eyes glazing over as he remembered his discussion with the clan matriarch.

* * *

_Hiashi sipped his tea, eyeing the socially awkward boy fidget with his hands. "Naruto-kun, it's come to my attention that you have been attempting to court my daughter. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"_

_He watched as Naruto straightened, how his eyes became serious. "I have no words to say, Hiashi-sama." Naruto replied, surprisingly diplomatic. "Other than I am serious with my relationship with Hina-chan, and if I may, Hiashi-sama," Naruto cleared his throat. "I'd like your blessing to go steady."_

_Hiashi almost chuckled, the boy was so much like his parents it wasn't even funny. "I would agree, on the terms that you don't hurt my daughter's feelings; but you must understand Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan is not ordinary girl. She is this clans heiress, and should act as such. Meaning that she can't start galavanting with some commoner." Hiashi held up his hand as Naruto was about to open his mouth to disagree. "These are the words of my council, Naruto-kun. They don't know about you're parents, nor do they know that you have three fourths of the village under your thumb. Realize this, Naruto-kun, not everybody knows, or cares, about you're status. However, if my council were to catch wind of you're standing in this society, they would brand the Caged Bird seal on you before you could say 'Marry me Hinata'." _

_Naruto choked on his tea, coaxing a baritone laugh out of the clan head. "Excuse me, Hiashi-sama, but that day is far away. I know of what happens to people who claim they love each other unconditionally, but when they start living together they do nothing but argue. I don't want that to happen to me and Hina-chan Hiashi-sama. We have agreed to take it slow, to learn to love everything about each other until we get married." _

_Hiashi fought back a proud smile, "I am proud of you for taking this seriously, Naruto-kun. You're parents would be too." _

_Naruto smiled. "Thanks, though I should probably thank the Ero-Sannin for releasing his first non-smut romancer. Hina-chan bought it, read it, then gave it to me."_

_"Oh, that book? Midnight Dance?" Hiashi smiled."I've read it, very tragic was it not? Komiko-san and Shu-san rushed into it, don't you think? In the end they ended up hating each other, but when Komiko-san died, they both learned that they really did love each other."_

_Naruto sighed. "She gave you that book to, huh? I still can't get over how Shu-san killed himself because Komiko died for him."_

_Hiashi smiled sadly, "If I didn't have Hanabi-chan and Hinata-chan, I'd have probably committed sepukku myself when Hibiki-chan died. But my children need me, and Hibiki would kill me if I died without taking care of them."_

_Naruto looked away uncomfortably, not know what to say as a calm silence enveloped the two. "I still want to go steady with Hina-chan, Hiashi-sama." He finally broke the suffocating silence, becoming serious once again. "I would wait for her, she's my first real friend Hiashi-sama. Not only that, but she's adorable, and so lovable too. I would wait until we become old enough that you have no council anymore."_

_Hiashi sighed. "You realize that I could arrest you for treason because you said that, right?" Naruto didn't flinch, just nodded resolutely and met Hiashi's eyes with unwavering eyes. The clan head put down his tea, folding his fingers together and scrutinizing the blonde before him before he sighed. "Sadly, I agree with you. The elders have enough power to be considered a threat to me, and they're going a little too far about wanting to brand Hinata as a branch member. I am the clan head, yes; but they fail to understand that I am also a father. If you were to 'go steady' as you call it, that would push them over the edge. We have no choice but to wait this one out."_

_Naruto sighed in relief, admitting to himself he was a little scared there. "Thank you, Hiashi-sama." Naruto stood and bowed. _

_"Do not mention it, Naruto-kun. You are always welcome in my house, it is the least I can do. Remember that. Leave me, I have paperwork to fill out." Hiashi waited until Naruto bowed again, before leaving. He took a deep breath, before he erupted into a fit of chuckles and laughs. "Oh, Naruto-kun, you didn't have to go all formal on me... That was hilarious!"_

_Naruto smirked from outside Hiashi's room, before leaving with a small smile._

"Yeah, Hiashi's cool." Naruto smiled, walking Sakura into a small sushi restraunt. "Just a little too formal if you ask me."

Sakura looked confused as Naruto started laughing, not understanding the little inside joke Naruto just cracked. She sighed, shaking her head at her blonde's eccentricity and ordering some Dango sticks and tempura sushi. "You're so weird, Naruto-kun"

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OMAKE 1, HINATA'S FIRST DATE

Hinata walked down the streets, holding a small paper bag and some matches. _'I wonder why Naruto asked me to go buy some firecrackers...there isn't something big going on that I don't know about is there?'_ She wondered to herself, walking to their favourite place to meet-Training ground 162. They liked the training ground because it had a waterfall, and a small pond with an underground cavern. IT was nice, and when they wanted some alone time they always went 'swimming' in the pond. She sighed in content, stopping at a small tea shop and buying some cinnamon rolls to go.

"Thank you, Hinoki-san." Hinata bowed, before leaving the homey little stand.

When she arrived at the training ground Naruto was already in the pond. She knew this because he left his overshirt next to the waterfall, a sign that he was waiting for her down the cavern. Sighing, she quickly changed into a modest two piece, leaving one of her tank tops on top of her swimsuit. She was still nervous about her assets, but Naruto always encouraged her not to be ashamed.

Jumping into the water with obvious practice and grace, she swam to the bottom, quickly turning to her right and into the darkness. Soon she touched land next to the entrance to their cavern, and she noticed that Naruto was in the back, humming lightly and setting out a lavish picnic that they couldn't possibly finish by themselves. Wringing out her hair and walking down the small path, smiled as Naruto waved her over.

"Hi, N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata called out, smiling brightly and waving almost enthusiastically. "I b-bought the firecrackers, what do we need them for?" She pulled the package out, thankful they were in a waterproof case and setting them down infront of Naruto's picnic blanket. He smiled at her, a surprisingly flirtatious smile, and Hinata almost swooned at his boyish, yet oddly sexy charm. She fidgeted, blushing redder than an apple and sitting down. _This couldn't possibly be a date, could it?_

"I-is this...?" Hinata trailed off, eyeing all the food infront of her. All of it had been her favorites, things she mentioned casually and in no intention for Naruto to actually remember them. She noticed a cooler, filled with-Ohmygod, was that mango juice? She hadn't had that in years! How did he know?

"Come here, Hinata-chan, I have something to show you." Naruto gestured for her to come closer, and mesmerized, she did so. He smiled and took her hand, smirking at her tomato face as they walked further down the cave.

They walked for about fifteen minutes, Hinata feeling a little nervous. When they finally arrived, Naruto took the firecrackers Hinata bought, holding his hand out for a small fire jutsu that Sasuke taught them. He threw one high into the air, then another and another... And another and another, until he used up the hole pack. Hinata watched in amazement as they hit the ceiling, bounced off each other before going off, forming one sentence in the sky: "I love you, Hinata" Naruto said, leaning in and giving her a small peck on the lips.

Hinata fainted.

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OMAKE TWO-WHY SASUKE WAS TIED TO THE POST

Sasuke was pissed. No, he was more than pissed, he was absolutely livid. And why was he livid? It was quite simple, actually; Sakura was starting to really grate on his very last nerve. While she wasn't as annoyingly useless as she used to be, she was still a very annoying fangirl. She was a fangirl of being a homey lovey dovey team, and that was starting to really _really_ annoy him.

He sighed, struggling with his self control as Sakura started trying to get his and Naruto's attention. Naruto smiled at her, but Sasuke ignored her, looking away and refusing to acknowledge her. Naruto nudged him, giving him a scolding look and the fourth last Uchiha glared darkly at Naruto. He was really not in the mood to play placating teammate, not even while they were being given this test. He gasped when Anko-sensei suddenly appeared before them, a grin on her lips as she stalked to Sasuke holding some ninja wire. Sasuke gulped, feeling intimidated and backing away.

"Times up, kiddies, and guess what? You fail!" Anko disappeared, and soon Sasuke was tied to a post, protesting and struggling against his bounds.

"Shut up, brat!" Anko snapped, smirking as Kakashi appeared behind her. "Do you know why _you're_ the one tied to the post, and not Pinkie, or Blondie?" She leaned in, face mere centimeters away from him as Sasuke pressed himself into the post in attempt to gather some distance. "_Because_, you Uchiha spoiled brat, you absolutely _refused_ to even _talk_ to that girl right over there!" She jabbed a finger to Sakura's chest, making the said girl yelp and back up a step or two.

"She offered her help, not to only you, but to Naruto-chan as well." Naruto grumbled. "And while Naruto _accepted_ her help! You. Did. _Not_~_!_" It came out like a song, and Sasuke scowled at her teasing.

Sasuke sighed, looking at Sakura as she watched the ground with an odd intensity. He glanced at Naruto, who mouthed the word 'apologize' before grinning impishly. Looking away, he mumbled something quietly. When Anko told him to speak up, (in her words 'louder, Uchiha, I need to fucking hear you!') he said in a loud voice. "Goddamn, I'm sorry, okay?"

Anko smiled, patting him on the head in a 'good boy' motion. Sasuke spat in her face, but she didn't flinch, pretending it didn't happen.

"Now that's done, don't feed this brat, and we'll consider passin' you two!" She said, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

When both sensei's were gone (Sasuke noticed Kakashi didn't really say anything to them), Sakura kept on looking between Naruto, him, and her food, looking confused while Naruto just looked at him with sympathy while eating some of his rice balls. Sasuke just sulked, not bothering to ask them if they could share.

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_AN: That's a wrap people! Remember the rule of Esoulix! RRFF!_

Okay, so if anyone is a little confudled about the time skips, a long line of "-" means time skip, while anything else means, well line breaker or meanwhile. Now that that's cleared up, remember to review, share, quote, do whatever it is you do to show you're appreciation for my fanfiction!

Till next time folks!

* * *

_**Note: Put on temp hiatus until my laptop is fixed. Thank you for your patients. **_


	6. V: Always Love

AN: I feel so loved xD 40 reviews, 130 fallowers, 90 favs, and **_5_**communities. Thanks guys! Addressing the frequent question of Naruto's past, don't worry. Sakura'll get fed up sooner or later. Also, about the whole issue of the Seal. The sandaime has lost a lot of lineage in the past 12 years, as he grew too soft. What they meant by 'waiting' meant they both knew that the sandaime was planning on finding a successor. Hiashi being one of the council members Hiruzen trusted, and Naruto being well, one of the hokages favourite people on the earth. They couldn't say this out loud, as there was a risk of spies. The whole 'Seal' mention was to make the elders think they got them cornered (that is, _if_ someone was spying on them *mysterious smile*).

Hm, and about the whole 'Sasuke's evil and irredeemable, ignore everyone and make him very evil and bash him and stuff' comment. Well first off. This is my story and I'm still a fairly big fan of Pre-Shippuden Sasuke, since back then Sasuke was still all about protecting what he had left. You have to remember that even at the Valley of the End he still had a semblence of light within him (he had a full chance to kill Naruto, and he didn't. Doesn't that mean something at all?), and during the Chunin Exams he was willing to die to let Sakura live.

END RANT

* * *

_**Hindsight**_

_**Arc One: Learning From the Past**_

_Chapter Five: Always Love_

_**WARNING: CONTAINS FLASHBACKS WITHIN FLASHBACKS (in the true Naruto Way), and some gore, and angsty moments**_

Hokage Tower: Before the Genin Exams

_Kakashi's existence was dreary and morbid, the only thing that kept him relatively sane was his jounin friend Gai and the Memorial Stone. Icha Icha was only to calm his nerves, the writing was okay, but it wasn't something that really caught his attention. Icha Icha was just a memento of his sensei's master. Gai was fun to be around, always happy and exuberant, it was a pleasant contrast to his aloof nature. The Memorial Stone was a place he liked to reminisce, the times before his life went to hell. _

_Kakashi often spent his life in the past, thinking of all the good times, all the bad times, and all the horrible times. He always spent his life thinking about how he would change things if he could go back, how he would make things different. This mindset would stay with him until he died, it stayed with him his whole life. Kakashi's life was mostly spent regretting his past, wishing he had the knowledge prior to the horrible things that he had caused, like the death of Rin, and the death of Obito. _

_He was a person who always wondered how things would have been if he had known what he knew now back then. He never expected to get an answer though._

Kakashi watched as his two students faced each other off in a fight to the death. He couldn't help but wonder, how would life had been, if only he'd taught his students more? How would their team be now, if he hadn't favoured Sasuke, if he hadn't spoiled the vain boy? What would they be doing now, if he had taught the children equally, each as harsh as the others training?

"You're dead!" Naruto growled, golden red chakra vibrating around him. His eyes were cold and lifeless, his stance rigid with a burning inferno of fury and rage. Sasuke laughed, an insane sound, and rushed his old teammate. Naruto just stood there, staring down his raven haired rival and eyes bleeding red. Sasuke powered up the Raikiri and propped his arm backward, jumping into the air. The next moment, both Kakashis remaining students had disappeared.

Kakashi looking around frantically, worrying over his senseis son. Where did they go? Was Naruto okay? Did Sasuke succeed in killing his once best friend? Did _Naruto_ succeed in killing _his_ best friend? Oh Kakashi was worrying so bad he was sure if his hair wasn't already silver he'd be going grey. He _was_ after all their sensei. He even fancied himself Naruto's big brother, who was there in the blondes time of need.

Up in the sky, there was a resounding **boom!**, and Kakashi stared on in awe. The sight was an amazing thing to see, Naruto stood in his Kyuubi Chakra form, a single Rasenhurinken spinning wildly, giving off quite a light show. Sasuke was barely holding off an already thrown Rasenhurinken with his Kusenagi: Chidori. It was quite a feat, seeing as the Kusenagi: Chidori was only an A Class Jutsu, on top of the fact that the Wind Element was stronger than the Lightening Element. Kakashi couldn't help but feel impressed with his treacherous student. Even if said student just killed Sakura, and was currently trying to kill Naruto.

Eventually the Kusenagi started to crack, and Sasuke was forced to Sunshin out of the way. He landed not twenty metres away from Kakashi, not even giving his former sensei a glance of recognition. Naruto himself used his personal version of his dads Haraishin to appear beside Kakashi, stepping in front of his sensei to protect him. Kakashi nodded to his student, and Naruto ran off, understanding the scarecrows meaning._ Give it your all. _

"You'll pay for what you did, you scumful bastard!" Naruto roared, his voice raspy with fury and anguish. "Why did you turn on Konoha?! Why did you betray us again?!"

It was a question everybody had on there minds. Why would Sasuke turn his back on them again, when he fought tooth and nail to protect them in the last war? Why would he kill the one that stole his heart? Why would he betray Konoha?

Sasuke laughed again. It was that laugh. The deranged one, the insane one full of anger, hatred, and malice. It was the very same laugh he laughed when Naruto promised to die killing him. The very same laugh that guaranteed his hatred for Konoha. "You thought that because I helped you out once, I'd become your Teammate again?!" He laughed insanely once more. "You'll never change, Naruto!" He seemed amused. "You know why I helped you guys?! The First was out of control! If I didn't he'd cut me down! You know what though!? Now he's gone, and I'm free to destroy Konoha once more!" Sasuke started laughing again. Naruto stared on in pity.

Kakashi realized with a jolt that Sasuke wasn't lying. This had been his plan all along. Getting their trust was just icing on the cake. Kakashi made a frustrated noise from the back of his throat, clenching his hands and Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan flaring to life. Sasuke would die.

"You bitch!" Naruto exploded. "I thought you had changed! I thought you were better now! What happened the boy who would die for his comrades?! What happened to the boy who jumped in front of me to save me life from Haku?! What happened to the boy who almost sacrificed himself for Sakura?! What happened to my teammate?! My brother?!"

Sasuke stopped laughing, face melting from insane glee to flat and cold indifference. It was disturbing to say the least. "What happened...What happened?!" Once again his visage changed, turning into uncontrollable rage. "I'll tell you what happened!"

With a flash of movement only visible to the Raikage and Naruto, he appeared to the golden blonde. He spun for a high kick, and Naruto just barely fended him off. "Konoha happened, bitch! You people spout about friendship and teamwork, but look what you did your own! You didn't even give the Uchiha a chance!"

Throughout his tirade he kept pushing Naruto back, eyes burning with rage and sorrow. Suddenly he stopped, once again powering up his Raikiri. Naruto didn't let his problematic empathy syndrome get to him, even if his heart was screaming at him to drop his weapons and give the boy a hug.

Because Sasuke didn't deserve Naruto's sympathy. Sasuke killed Naruto's best friend, he killed Sakura. He mortally wounded Hinata. Injured Kakashi.

And for that, Sasuke would perish.

No one noticed the small tear in Sasuke's eye as they clashed once more.

* * *

_That day Kakashi decided to take this seriously. Unfortunately, Kakashi had a little problem. When he started something, no matter how determined he got for it, he always finished it half assed. So he invested in a little help, though somehow he knew that he would regret it some time later in life. Why would he regret it?_

_Because Anko Mitarashi was one tough bitch. _

_This was confirmed a day later when Kakashi was talking to said Dango loving sadist over tea. To be blunt about it, Anko scared him. "Maa, Maa." Kakashi placated the irritated interrogator. "Just here me out Anko-chan." _

_Anko scrutinized him carefully, tearing off some Dango from it's stick. She spoke without swallowing, and Kakashi fought back a wince at her poor table manners. "Fine," A swallow. "Talk, you have five minutes to convince me to teach these little brats. It better be good Lalashi."_

_Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Just because you caught me singing in the shower that one time doesn't mean-"_

"_On with it Lalashi, I don't have all day." Anko snapped somewhat playfully, tearing off more Dango from their sticks._

_Kakashi sighed. "Fine, whatever. Call me what you will." He snatched one of Anko's Dango sticks from her plate, dodging her protesting hand and eating it before she could stop him. "But every time you call me a name like 'Lalashi', I'll take your Dango."_

_Kakashi must of been the only person alive today to successfully mess with Anko's Dango and not end up in the hospital. Anko growled when Kakashi stole another Dango stick and ate it before she could punch his face in. However she was still interested in whatever Kakashi had to say, and was currently fighting back the urge to cut his kunai off with her favourite kunai. Kakashi just eye smiled at her, and Anko looked away, blushing. _

"_On with it, Kakashi" Anko emphasized his name sarcastically. "Five minutes."_

_Kakashi cleared his throat. This would be a long explanation._

* * *

"_So you're telling me..." Anko said conversationally, sipping her hot tea and waving for more Dango. "Your future self sent back memories of the future, which were to him, to you in the future, the past; and in these memories, or more accurately—memory—you saw your two star students facing it off to the death because one went bat shit crazy and defected to that bastard Orochimaru...only to change his mind and return, before killing his pink haired teammate...and now you want me to help train all of them equally so it never happens?" _

_Kakashi sweat dropped. She had just summed it all up in one (admittedly really long) sentence while he had talked for over five minutes explaining it to her. "In essence, yeah."_

_Anko hummed thoughtfully around a toothpick, chewing. "Either you're crazy," Kakashi winced. "Or you're telling the truth. It's not impossible, we do live in a world where people breathing fire is a regular thing...but that has to be some crazy ass time – space ninjutsu there. Maybe it was from the Yamanaka library? You should probably tell the Hokage about this, either way though. It wouldn't do to have a mentally unstable bitch teaching the next generation...I don't count, it being my genuine personality an' all. I'm not actually crazy, and every'un knows that. Anyway, if it, by some chance, is true, then it's possible that people could get more of these 'memories' or so."_

_Kakashi made a rough sound of frustration. "Yes, I was planning on doing that." He looked away, grumbling, "And I'm not unstable..."_

_Anko blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. Then she opened her mouth, and started laughing. Kakashi glared at her as she laughed her little, evil, heart out.. He wished she would just shut up sometimes. "La-la-shi," She sang out, coming in close. A little started, Kakashi leaned back from her imposing face. He gave a deviant glare, but she just grinned wider. "If you truly believed that," She grinned wider, perfectly white teeth taunting him. "You wouldn't be here with my today" She whispered._

_Kakashi growled, giving her a cold stare. He refused to believe it. _

_But she just laughed, and backed up. "Jeeze Hatake, stop being so Emo."_

_Kakashi sighed. Anko was so eccentric sometimes. "So you going train the kids or what?" Kakashi got up, flipping out his book in a most dramatic way. It was Anko's turn to glare._

"_Whatever. When are the team assignments?" _

"_Next Monday, 1:00 on the dot. I'm not going to show until three though." _

_Anko raised a brow. "The Ever Late Kakashi strikes again, eh?"_

_Kakashi actually laughed._

* * *

It had been three months since they made Genin under Kakashi and Anko, and training was going well. Actually, within the first two months of being with the duo Naruto easily made it as a B Rank ninja, and that was with his Fuuinjutsu alone. He completely finished training for Intermediate katas for his Pouncing Dragon, and had increased his Wind Element considerably, he even started working on his secondary affinity, Water.. He had also gotten down basic katas for the Uzumaki Clan Kenjutsu style, though he didn't have too much talent with a sword. He was 'barely above average' as Anko's friend Yugao had once stated. Coming from one of the best Kenjutsu users in Konoha, Naruto took it as a compliment. His real strength in Bukijutsu came in the form of a flail, not a common weapon in Konoha, but still effective nonetheless. Give him a sickle and some wind chakra, and you're in some big trouble.

Sakura had become a prodigy in both Medical Jutsu and Genjutsu, and she had a certain proficiency in Taijutsu that scared even Sasuke. She also was talented in basic Bukijutsu, though she was no genius in the art of weapons like her friend TenTen was. Currently her favourite weapon was the senbon, a needle like dagger that was used for decapitation. She once sent Kiba to the hospital by accurately hitting an extremely sensitive spot near the legs. (Guess where.) That wasn't all she was good at though, no. She was terrifyingly good at both fire jutsu and Earth jutsu. Anko had started her out one poisons, which, again, she was horrifyingly proficient in. Needless to say she was at least as mid C rank threat.

Sasuke had only improved within the three months they've been together. As of now he was easily a high C rank threat. Under Kakashi, who taught him all there was to know about lightening jutsu, his already strong affinity for the element skyrocketed. His favourite jutsu was the one that charged the victim with so much electricity that they were literally burned to a crisp. He only used it on forest animals so far though. Roasted squirrel quickly became his favourite midday snack. That didn't mean he slacked off on his secondary element, fire. One of his favourites was the Fire Style: Grand Fire Ball Jutsu, which he often collaborated with Naruto's Wind Style: Great Gale Wind Palm, or Wind Style: Great Wind Breakthrough. The result was often (at least) five miles of scorched land. Sasuke excelled in Kenjutsu, and took in the Uchiha style, The Raging Inferno. Needless to say it fit him perfectly.

Kakashi and Anko were no slacks either. In the three months they've been together they've come to realize how lazy they've been in their training. It hit them across the face when they lost a spar to their three Genin. Ever since then they stepped up their training drastically, almost to the point where Gai would be extremely proud of them. Where Kakashi had diminished to a mid a Rank threat, he was now at least mid S Rank. And where Anko used to be only high B rank, she was now at least high A, low S. Needless to say they had quite the wake up call. This, of course, caused the majority of anybody over Chuunin to train more vigorously. Which caused the academy to be stepped up considerably. Which, in the long run would up the standards of Konoha Genin. Which of course triggered the older generations pride switch, making _them_ train harder.

It was amazing how one team of Genin could change how the whole village worked as a whole.

At the moment they were currently doing a basic warm up (which,— to Sakura's horror—for Naruto was the equivalent to Lee's 'advanced' warm ups. Basic warm up indeed.), Anko and Kakashi watching from the sidelines and occasionally playing with different kind of weapons. (For example: Kakashi was juggling some exploding Kunai.) Anko hummed thoughtfully, chewing on some lightly poisoned senbon to increase her immunity while watching Sakura practice with her accuracy. Her eyes narrowed. "Hey Pinkie!" She hollered, stepping in and skillfully dodging a rampant Kunai.

Sakura turned, glaring and furrowing her brow. "Anko-sensei, I thought I told you to not call me that." She said, brandishing a personalized senbon. Anko just laughed, patting her student on the back.

"Awe don't be like that kid," Anko said scathingly, but smiled. "Anyways your stance is a tiny bit off. Show me it again."

"Hai." Sakura didn't argue, just got into her basic stance and started raining senbon into the target. Her aim was a little off, but it was still enough to impress Anko a little. Anko hummed, and poked the back of her head. Sakura stumbled, yelping.

"Just as I thought." Anko said to herself. She started adjusting Sakuras feet, poking them this way and that. "Try again."

"Hm." Sakura hummed her comply. She rained down more senbon to a different target. Bulls-eye.

Sakura grinned triumphantly, feeling more than a little accomplished at her work.

Anko her self nodded, a 'not bad' kind of look on her face. "Meet us at the—" She started.

"—Hokage tower." Kakashi finished, then they both disappeared.

The three genin shared a look, before Naruto sighed. "I guess I'll meet you there, I've gotta go home and change my shirt, this one's tearing horribly." An afterthought later, Naruto added. "Maybe I should put on some strengthening seals. Yeah, sounds good."

Sakura made a face. "I'll come with you, otherwise you'll take forever adding millions of seals to your things." Naruto pouted, but agreed. Sasuke just nodded his ascent, walking away before disappearing with a _crack!_ of lightening. Sakura and Naruto shared a look before doing the same with their respective elements.

* * *

"Took you long enough," Sasuke griped as they walked into the Hokage tower. As usual, the secretary waved them in, hardly even glancing up at them. Naruto and Anko were regulars in visiting the Sandaime. Sasuke and Kakashi usually just tagged along. Especially Sasuke, who was often found with either Naruto or Hinata, sometimes Kakashi or Sakura.

On the way to the office Kakashi and Anko catch up to them, Anko sporting a small blush. Sakura notices the signs and smirks. Anko bonks her over her head, and Sakura pouts. "But Anko-_chan_!" She whines, placing a glowing hand over her developing bump. Anko hit her pretty hard, almost hard enough for Sakura to see stars.

"Leave other peoples business as it is Sakura-chan." Anko mumbles, kicking open the Hokages door rather violently. Sakura winced, not liking the blatant lack of respect for their leader. Sasuke didn't seem to care either way, and Kakashi was just amused. Naruto, well, he was on the same page as Anko.

"YO! JIJI!" Anko and Naruto yelled simultaneously, grinning like there was no tomorrow. Sakura punched Naruto in the shoulder, giving him a warning look. Naruto just grinned at her, amused at her formality.

"Hey-yo Jiji, you having fun doing your paperwork?" Naruto asked cheerily, rushing up and sitting on the elderly leaders desk. The sandaime gave Naruto a kind smile, pushing away the stack of papers and standing.

"Ah, Naruto-kun." He said, shooing the blonde off his mahogany desk and sending him to one of the cushioned chairs. "Those are there for a reason, Naruto-kun." He admonished, and Naruto (to the surprise of Sakura, who didn't see the Hokage often, much less seen Naruto with him) gave an apologetic look. "Now, on to business... as you all know, most Genin don't get their first C Rank mission until six months into D Ranks and training."

The wizened leader paused for a second, letting it sink in. Naruto's eyes widened, practically glowing with hope "You don't mean...?" He asked, excitement clear in his eyes. The Hokage chuckled, ruffling his favourite blonds head (once again, much to the surprise of Sakura).

"Yes," He answered, "What I'm telling you is that you have a C Rank mission, here are the details." He handed Kakashi a small scroll, and Kakashi nodded. "You are to search and find a young woman who goes by the name 'Kairi'. Her village reported her missing and want her back. There is a possibility that she has been kidnapped. Tread carefully, and don't be reluctant to call in for reinforcements. The client is waiting for you at the Platinum Leaf Inn."

Anko have a cheek salute, grinning. "Don'tcha worry Jiji, we've got this in the bag! Anyways, these gaki are tough. If anything goes wrong he has the legendary Anko Mitarashi-sama and her lackey Lalashi! Ow! What the hell Lalashi?!"

Kakashi had hit her over the head, smirking underneath his mask and finding her self-importance more amusing than offending. "Come on Anko-chan, we both know that I'm the leader for this mission."

Anko scowled up at him, rubbing her sore head. "Meanie." She said playfully. Kakashi just chuckled.

Sakura shared a look with her two teammates, all feeling vaguely amused. "Do you think?" She asked, raising both slender pink eyebrows.

Naruto grinned, wiggling his eyebrows and giving them a suggestive look. "What do you think I think, Sakura-chan?" He asked as the team walked out of the Hokages office. Naruto paused, looking back. "Hey Jiji! I just noticed, why don't you use Shadow Clones to do paperwork?" Just as they were closing the door, the Hokage let out a loud shout of frustration. Sakura let out a chiming laugh, playfully hitting Naruto's shoulder. Naruto just grinned wider.

"Finally a C Rank mission," Sasuke groaned after a while of walking, feeling more than a little exasperated at the chore like jobs they were given. "I thought we were going to be stuck doing those twice blasted D's forever."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You know, you're such a drama queen Sasuke. We all knew that those things wouldn't last long. At least we're not doing them for another six months. That would suck majorly. Anyway, I think doing D Ranks is more profitable than doing, say, a B Rank..." Naruto rolled his eyes. They were giving him that look again, the one that told him that he surprised them with his intelligence. They just couldn't get over the fact that Naruto was actually smart when he wanted to be. Like controlling his finances. Or making new seals. Sasuke once admitted that Naruto would make a very good accountant if he ever wanted to. Of course Naruto would never become one, but it was the thought that counted.

Sakura shook her head, giving him a questioning look. "How so? One would think that doing a B Rank would be more generous than doing a D Rank, they are more expensive."

Naruto nodded, confusing Sakura even more. Clearly Sakura wasn't putting much thought into this. "That's true, but how long does it take for you to do a single D Rank mission? With jutsu and clones, at most half an hour. Say you plan on doing D Ranks for 16 hours. Since the average D Rank mission pays around fifty ryo, you're making 100 ryo an hour and 1600 ryo each day. Say you do this for a month..." Naruto pauses to think for a moment. "and you make approximately 44800 ryo."

Sakura is impressed, but still confused. Sasuke look on in interest, wanting to see where this was going as he thought the same as Sakura. "Well that's all well and good, but what does this have to do with it making more than B Ranks?"

Naruto gave her a mysterious, knowing smile and tutted at her. "Just wait for it, Sakura-chan. It's coming." He waited to make sure she wouldn't interrupt him again. "Most of the time, B Ranks take up to two weeks to complete, maybe even three. There are rare times when B Ranks don't take even a day to complete, but those are the harder ones. On top of that, there is a requirement you take a week of recuperation unless you're an A Rank ninja. So in reality, doing a B Rank takes you three weeks."

"How do you know this?" Sakura asked curiously.

In the background, both Anko and Kakashi watch in mild amusement, both interested in seeing the outcome of this conversation.

"When I was little I used to sit in the Hokage office and watch Hiruzen-jiji go about his business." Naruto answered, surprising the pinkette. It was one thing to be friends with the Hokage, but it was different all together if you actually spent the majority of your time in his office."This didn't happen often, but sometimes I would catch one of the Jounin reporting in for a mission. One time I managed to catch someone coming in from one," He gave Kakashi a look. "and asked him how long they usually take. Since it really had nothing to do with his actual assignment, he told me." Naruto shrugs. "Anyway, do you know how much the average B Rank pays?"

"5 000 to 10 000 ryo." Sakura answered immediately, then her eyes widened as she realized it.

"You see what I mean?" Naruto asked, and Sakura nodded dumbly. "Doing two months worth of D Ranks is worth more than doing a single B Rank. On the other hand," Naruto relented, "They have much more benefit to Konoha as a whole then simple D Ranks." Naruto paused, "And a _whole_ bunch more interesting..."

Kakashi ruffled the blondes hair, smiling proudly at Naruto's ability to manage his money. It wasn't all that surprising actually, since Naruto had been living on his own for as long as he could remember. Especially since half the village gave him bogus prices. "That's enough talk about money Naruto-kun, we have a C Rank to complete. But that was a wonderful explanation."

Naruto nodded, feeling accomplished at Kakashi's praise.

"Well, gaki" Anko clapped her hands once, gaining the attention of her Team. "You know what to do, get those scrolls that Naruto-kun prepared for this day and lets meet at the Platinum Leaf Inn."

Team Seven nodded, all disappearing in a seal-less Sunshin. Anko turned to Kakashi, grinning. "Well, Big Boy, we have an hour to kill..." She leaned in, making sure to push her breasts together in the most seductive fashion. "Why don't we..." She purred into the scarecrows ear, "Have a little fun?"

Kakashi gulped, fantasizing about all the things they could do within that one hour.

Anko grinned. Oh how she loved to tease her little beau.

They met at the Platinum Leaf Inn around an hour and a half later, Kakashi looking a little haggard and Anko looking a little... dazed. Naruto looked on curiously before shrugging, deciding it was none of his business. Sakura gave them one look over, raised a single, pink brow, and looked away shaking her head. Sasuke didn't even notice. Kakashi kept a look out, searching for their client as Anko and his kids started speaking strategies.

He spotted her quickly, recognizing her from the file his Hokage gave him. "Excuse me miss..." He trailed off, giving her a chance to tell him her name. He already knew her name, of course, as it was in her file, but he had found out a long time ago it unnerved the civies when ninja knew almost everything about them.

"Nayumi, Shinobi-san." The woman bowed swiftly. "Are you the one that Hokage-sama sent to help? My daughter ran away a while ago, and I'm starting to get worried."

"Yes, ma'am." Kakashi smiled at her. "My students are over there, with...eh, my 'co-teacher'." He pointed to his team, who, as usual, was bickering endlessly. He caught the words 'fun', and 'details' coming from Naruto, and the words 'none' and 'business' from Anko. He heard the genin start to laugh at their sensei, who was pouting.

Nayumi smiled at him, and looked over to where he was gesturing. She gasped, scandalized. "What is that woman wearing?" She whispered. "It's too revealing, isn't she supposed to be a role model for her students?" Anko started strangling Naruto when he said something teasingly. Nayumi gulped. A grown woman strangling a young boy...what was with this village? "Will..will my Kairi-chan be safe with her around?"

Kakashi just laughed (though a little scathingly, not that Nayumi noticed). "Don't you worry about Anko-chan. She's perfectly safe..." He thought about it for a second. Anko started to punch Naruto. "...most of the time." Nayumi looked pale and green at the same time. Sighing, Kakashi called Anko over. "Okay, so this is Nayumi-san, she will be our client for today. Say hi."

Sasuke grunted, watching as a cart rolled some ripe, fresh tomatoes in. "Not a child, sensei." He hesitated for a moment, before rushing off to haggle off a free tomato. Kakashi sighed in exasperation.

Naruto smiled kindly at her, "Don't mind them, Sasuke just has a fetish for—"

"Not another word, Dobe!" Sasuke hollered from where he was talking to some store keeper.

"Like I care, Teme! Oh, get me one too!"

"Freaking dobe..." Sasuke mumbled as he walked back up to them, reluctantly handing Naruto a tomato. He had ten.

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry about them, they're a little eccentric sometimes." She bowed. "My name is Sakura. No surname. The one who is chowing down on a tomato is Uchiha Sasuke-kun. My blonde friend over here is Uzumaki Naruto-kun. The pineapple'd one over there is Mitarashi Anko-sensei."

Nayumi looked relieved for a second, before regaining control over herself and bowing to each person individually. "Thank you, Shinobi-san, for helping me find my daughter."

Anko grinned, again chewing on her poisoned needle. "Not a problem, girlie. We'll get you're daughter back in no time."

Kakashi nodded absentmindedly, turning a page in his book that miraculously appeared in his hand. Again, Nayumi gasped dramatically. "Ninja-san! Please do not read that trash in public..." Kakashi didn't respond. Anko grinned. Naruto smirked. Sasuke grunted. Sakura sighed.

"Now, where did you last see your daughter, Nayumi-san?" Sakura asked, going into business mode that had everyone else (save Kakashi, who was engrossed in his book) on her team stop goofing off.

Nayumi thought for a second, "I saw her in the next village over, to the west, I think."

Sasuke nodded, "I see. We'll start there."

Naruto thought for a moment. "That village is about twenty or so miles over, right..?" He asked Kakashi, who nodded, letting him think it over. Naruto glanced at their client, giving her a once over and making her squirm under his calculative gaze. "With the client, Sakura, how long would it take to reach Sairyaku?"

Sakura thought for a moment. "Maybe until sunset? The next day maybe?" She looked at their client. "It depends on her pace."

Sasuke made a scoffing sound as they started walking towards the village gates, letting Kakashi take the lead. Nayumi trailed behind, watching them talk as if watching one of those 'real life' drama shows.

Anko smiled, "Then I guess we'd have to teach you three a little game, since it would be _so_ boring to be walking for _so_ long." Her voice was scathing, but Sasuke just smirked at her bitchy sarcasm.

Naruto looked to be the only one interested. "A game, Anko-sensei?" He asked, sounding a tad skeptical. "How would a game help us?" He got a mental image of them playing _I Spy_ while walking the client back to the village. It wasn't all that appealing.

Anko laughed, patting him on the back a little too hard. "What, afraid of a little kiddies game? It's not like we're going to play Monopoly Shipping Edition on the road." They stopped for a moment, staring at each other.

Sakura made a face, being the ever organizer. "That would be a big mess. I mean," She made a disgusted noise. "Pieces of the game would be flying everywhere, people would be missing dice and money and Sasuke would possibly be missing an eye."

Sasuke made a startled sound at the verbal attack to his eyes. "Not the eyes, Sakura!" He said, uncharacteristically panicked for a moment.

Naruto laughed at his teammates misfortune, giving the startled boy a teasing look. "That's what you get for cheating, teme."

Sasuke frowned at Naruto, pride rising to defend himself. "I didn't cheat!"

"Oh yeah!?" Naruto retorted weakly.

"Yeah!" Sasuke's retort was equally weak. "I didn't cheat. Uchihas don't cheat. They borrow."

Naruto scoffed, still feeling a little sore from when Sasuke finally activated his Sharingan and accidentally stole one of Naruto's favourite jutsu. "Borrow, more like steal, teme."

Sakura sighed, feeling vaguely embarrassed but more amused than anything else. "We haven't even started playing yet, guys." She jokingly scolded, "Don't start fighting until Sasuke starts cheating."

Sasuke made a loud noise of objection, but Naruto just looked smug. "See, even Sakura-chan thinks you'd cheat!"

"How does one cheat in Monopoly Shipping Edition anyways?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

Everyone looked at him as if he had forgotten his head when waking up in the morning. "Nin nin." Naruto made a fake hand sign, giving him a deadpan look. Kakashi rolled his visible eye. "Exactly, Naruto-kun. Since we're all ninja, of course we'd know who's cheating before they actually cheat."

Naruto shrugged. "It depends on how sneaky the ninja is, doesn't it? I mean, if, say," Naruto thought for a moment. "Lee tried to cheat—not that he ever would, anyways, too 'unyouthful'—we'd all know the second he tries because he's more of a melee fighter than someone who specialized in stealth like Shino and-or Shikamaru."

Sakura nodded. "Shino's BAMF." She commented, looking very wise.

Sasuke agreed, "Yeah, he's totally underrated. Remember that spar between Neji and him? That was one of epic proportions..." He smirked. "Since both relied on techniques that included making you're chakra not work, or taking your chakra away..." His eyes widened at the implications. "oh god they'd be a terrifying duo." He said, totally forgetting about the story he was about to tell.

Naruto shivered. "Especially since we both mostly rely on Ninjutu... Hate to be teamed against those two."

Sakura made a face. "My god, I'm going to have allot of bad dreams about facing against those two." she admitted, having mostly used medic jutsu or earth jutsu in battle.

They gave pause. "More Bukijutsu and Taijutsu training?" Naruto suggested into the tense silence.

Both nodded.

"Now that you're done changing the subject a billion times," Anko started, sounding really irritated at being ignored. "Why don't we talk about the game?"

Naruto blinked. "I totally forgot about that. What game?" He asked, making Anko roll her eyes in exasperation.

"Well basically its just catch...only with Kunai. I used to play it with Kurenai when we were wee little genin like yourselves." Anko grinned. "Here, _catch,_ Naruto-chan." She tossed a kunai in Naruto's direction, startling the blond a little. Naruto caught it by the handle, hissing slightly in pain. Everyone (sans Anko) looked at him oddly as he gave Anko a deadpan look.

"This is dipped in chakra water." Naruto whispered, still gripping the kunai in awe. There was a _hiss-pop!_ as his skin burned and rehealed and he looked at Anko wondrously, "Where did you get it? It's so expensive..." He muttered as he ran a finger over the blade.

Anko grinned. "I have my resources." She said blithely, waving it off. "Just make sure you don't lose that blade, Naru-chan."

Sakura watched the exchange curiously, wondering what the hell was Chakra Water. "Um, guys?"

"Before you ask, Kura-chan," Naruto interrupted, twirling the kunai and gripping it seamlessly as he inspected the blade. "Chakra Water is much like Chakra Paper...except much more...corrosive, if you will. It reacts to your chakra signature, the potential it has and reacts accordingly. According to the burning sensation in my palm..." Naruto shook his head. "It could mean many things. It also could melt allot of things... depending on the type of water you used and how long you saturated it with chakra... on top of the variable of they type of chakra...by the looks of it, the chakra in here was probably fire or lightening, possibly lava...Anyways, Anko-sensei probably jacked the stuff off of the interrogations department, seeing as they have it in the droves..." He made a humming sound, ignoring the slight burning sensation as he played with the sharp killers blade. "Be glad she didn't pass it off to you, Sakura, without my healing ability it'd probably...melt your skin off your bones." He saw the shiver of fear go up Sakura's spin as he carefully handled the dangerous weapon. "I don't know how Anko handled the blade without burning her hand off..."

Naruto looked at his female sensei questionably, causing Anko to blink before grinning. "Did you really think that this thing here isn't cared for thoroughly? See the tip of the handle over here, just push some of your personal chakra into it and it makes you immune to the Chakra Water on the blade." Naruto 'tch'd at the array, frowning. He looked offended.

"Anko-sensei," He muttered. "This seal is faulty, who made it?"

Anko laughed a little sheepishly. "Well, I think it was that Kasumi girl. Why, what's wrong with it? It works for me..."

Naruto looked Anko in her eyes, searching. "That's the thing. It works, but if you held on to it for more than a minute, then the array would break down and you're hand would probably be burned off. How long have you been using this? Any numbing sensation?"

Anko shook her head. "Not at all, I only held on to it for as long as it took to pass it to you."

Naruto sighed in relief. "I guess I'll have to fix the seal on this thing...damn girl didn't know what she was doing..." Naruto said as he fiddled with the array. After a few moments of tense silence, the seals expanded into the air, surrounding the blonde. Naruto hummed. "Not good, not good at all..." He turned to Anko. "You should probably go to the hospital right now."

Anko froze for a second, before nodding and using _sunshin_ to get to the hospital. Naruto started on the seal right away, continuing to play with the symbols and twist them into new kanji and tools. It was a very tricky job, since Naruto only had a set amount of 'ink', a set amount of room to fix it. It was like defusing an old fashioned bomb—life threatening, and his life wasn't the only one on the line.

Their client, (who had been unfortunately forgotten about for the moment) watched in awe as Naruto changed the seal completely, before putting it away into the kunai. The whole process took no longer than twenty in relief, Naruto put some chakra into it and held on to it for a long time. There was no sizzle, no pop. Naruto smiled a little. "We should probably go see Anko-sensei," He said. Everyone agreed.

They rushed to the hospital, the client promising to meet them there later and letting them go ahead. Team Seven as a whole were immensly thankful and Naruto once again promised to get Nayumi's daughter back.

"So why did you send her to the hospital?" Sasuke asked, sounding vaguely worried.

When Naruto didn't say anything, Kakashi answered for him. "On top of being highly corrosive on a physical level, Chakra Water can also be very damaging to ones chakra network. It depends on the type of chakra is used, of course. Since the chakra used for this was either lava, fire, or lightening—three of the most offensive chakra affinities ever—it's needless to say that little amounts of the water can disable ones chakra for a set amount of time."

"So basically don't touch chakra water no matter what?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi shook his head, and Naruto continued. "Chakra Water can also be very healing, Sakura. Like I said, it all depends of the chakra used to make it. A Chakra Water bath, could be either very painful or very relaxing. Think about it, say if someone like Hinata-chan, who has a water affinity—the affinity that is said to be the most healing in the world—and is very gentle and kind...if someone like Hinata makes Chakra Water then bathing in that water would heal even Lee's chakra network."

Sakura paused for a moment. "Then why isn't Chakra Water mass produced? Why is the Interrogations Department the only one that gets to use it if it's so healing?" She asked, knowing that not even Tsunades poweress could heal Lee's chakra network.

It was Kakashi who answered this time. "Chakra Water takes a very long time to make, almost ten times longer to make Chakra Paper. There are some cases where they use the water for healing, but it's mainly used for things like interrogations or melee."

Sasuke thought for a moment. "How long does it take to make paper?"

Naruto shrugged, "I don't know, never read on it."

"six months," Kakashi answered tersely. "So it'd take five years to make a gallon chakra water,"

"So you understand how rare the water could be, and the implications of Anko giving me even a cup of it." Naruto said. "It's the whole reason chakra water is so expensive."

By the time they were finished their conversation, they had already fallowed Anko's signature to her room. (Sakura was the beginnings of a novice sensor.) They stopped outside of Anko's door, Kakashi moving to knock.

"I'm sorry, Anko-san," There was a muffled voice outside. Naruto recognized as Dr. Noasu, someone who exclusively worked with Naruto and Anko alone. "But your chakra is slightly damaged, you shouldn't use it for about a week."

"But Oujiji!" Anko's voice was less muffled, loud and protesting. "My team is going on their first C Rank, I can't miss out on this."

There was a pause, and Naruto knew that Noasu was shaking his head in apology. "I'm sorry, but if you use your chakra more than a simple sunshin or an E Ranked jutsu, then your reserves will be cut off for a while. You're lucky that Naruto-kun realized it sooner or I wouldn't've found it out."

"So you're forbidding me from being there for Naru-chans first mission?" It was more of an accusation than a question, and both Noasu and Naruto flinched. "I have to be there, Ouji." It was quieter, and even Naruto had to strain his ears a little to hear it. "Naru-chan and his friends are very important to me...it took me a while to realize it but...I can't just let them go out there and risk themselves while I'm here, stuck in this room until my chakra heals."

Kakashi knew that it wasn't the right time to walk in, so he stopped his team from interrupting their conversation. He just listened. He heard the doctor sigh. "It's just a C Rank, Anko, what's the worst that could happen? Their first kill?"

Naruto could almost _see_ Anko shake her head. "On my first C, I almost got raped by a Nuke-nin. I don't want to risk that happening to Sakura-chan or, god forbid, Naru-chan or Sasuke-kun." Sakura froze at that, pursing her lips to stop herself from saying that she could take care of herself. Both boys shivered. "They could run into some trouble, and knowing Naruto, who—you know this from personal experience—is a trouble magnet. You remember, don't you? When I wasn't fast enough to save him from—" There was a choked sound, and Naruto opened his mouth to say he'd never blame her. Kakashi stopped him, covering his mouth and shaking his head. Naruto glared. Both Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto, wondering what happened. "Back then he didn't have the _healing_, he didn't have anything to protect him and it was my job! And I failed. Couldn't do anything at all. I don't want that...I can't let it happen again."

There was a ruffling sound, and somehow Naruto knew that Noasu was giving Anko a reassuring hug. "He's stronger now, Anko-chan." It was so quiet, they almost missed it. "You know that. He can take care of himself. Hell, you _know_ that Naruto could probably take you on a straight out fight and get away without dying a horrible death. Why worry so much? We both know that Naruto is stronger than he lets on. Anyways, he's not alone." He didn't mean Naruto's teammates.

"No, not anymore..." Anko muttered quietly. "I don't think he ever was, not really."

Kakashi chose this moment to knock on the door. He heard a faint sniffle as Noasu called them in. "Is she going to be okay?" He asked, even though he knew the answer. Noasu nodded reassuringly, smiling kindly. "Just a weeks rest, some hospital food and a small exposure to some healing water will be enough." He replied.

Sasuke made a small relieved grunting noise, looking away to hide his expression. "Good. Sensei's the only one that can keep Kakashi in line."

Kakashi made an offended noise, bopping the raven haired boy over the head. Sakura giggled a little, before turning to her only female sensei. "I'll keep them in line for you, Sensei."

Naruto gave Anko a reassuring grin, "Don't you worry sensei, I'll protect them! I'll try to make it back in one piece as well."

Kakashi sighed. "That's not all that reassuring, Naruto-kun." He turned to Anko who was giving them one of her small, rare true smiles. "I'll make sure they'll be safe, you just rest, 'kay?"

There was no reprimands of being careless or scoldings about coming into contact with the water. Just reassurances. Just understanding. Just kindness. Just love. Always love.

* * *

Okay! Sorry for being so late guys! I'm not going to lie, I left my laptop on my chair overnight (one of those awesome rolly spinny ones, with fabric covering) and it basically fried my hardrive. =.= So it wouldn't turn on and I had to save up money to fix it. Lost. All. My. Work. Had to rewrite this one. Sorry.

Anyways, that's a wrap people! Remember the Rule of Esoulix: RRFF!


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